Another Chance
by thestarsinthesky13
Summary: Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay all grew up in the Isle. Everyone knows that story. But what if it was worse than everyone expected? Everyone has a choice, but when growing up on the Isle, they aren't left with many, if at all. Join the teens as they navigate Auradon Prep all the while finding out who they are. Ben/Mal, Evie/Doug, and more!
1. Prologue

**A/N: So it struck me one day when rewatching this movie about the home life of the teenagers from the Isle. Of course, it looks all simple and stuff, since it's a Disney movie. But in reality, it would've been a lot worse. The idea has been bugging my mind for a couple of weeks now, and I need to write it out. Who knows where this story will go? Obviously with a happy ending, since I'm a sucker for those. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Warnings: Child abuse! Other than that, I won't write about anything else. If you aren't comfortable, please don't read! It won't be too graphic; I don't think I know how to write it like that. This story will be rated T though because of the subject matter.**

Prologue

Mal streaked out of her house, and onto the streets without a backward glance. She could hear her mother's screams behind her, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She had to get out of there. After a while, she slowed down to a walk until she reached her destination, a secluded area of the island.

She had found this place practically by accident one day. She had been stealing a loaf of bread when the owners started chasing her. After running for a while, she finally tripped and fell into this place. As far as she can tell, no one else has been here. At least, not while she was there. She would always come here to get away from her mother or if she needed to think.

Breathing deeply, she finally turned her attention to herself. She cautiously took off her jacket and lifted her shirt to inspect her wounds. To her dismay, blood dripped from the jagged gash on her shoulder her mother inflicted with a broken shard of mirror. She looked around in dismay for anything to clean the blood off. She found an old scarf that probably gotten blown there from the wind. Gratefully, she grabbed it and pressed on the wound.

A jolt of pain tremored through her body. She gritted her teeth but refused to scream or cry in pain. That showed weakness, and she was stronger than that. She had to be. Satisfied that the wound stopped bleeding, she cleaned the wound as best she could. Discarding the scarf, she pulled her jacket back on. Hopefully, the wound would heal by itself instead of causing an infection.

Sighing, her thoughts wandered to her friends and their respective parents. She knew how tough their parents could be and didn't want any grief to be put upon them. They were the only people she cared about; she didn't want anything to happen to them. Their group were loyal to each other and helped each other through difficult times. Being loyal to them is the only non-evil thing Mal wants to do.

Mal began to aimlessly wander through the island, with no particular in mind. Without looking, she grabbed a lollipop from a toddler she passed nearby. While she was proud of herself, she inwardly twitched at it. _Don't think like that,_ she scolded herself. She is evil; she should be proud of it. _If only I could get away from my mother. Me and my friends,_ she thought glumly. Anywhere away from this dreaded island if fine; somewhere she and her friends can be evil and wreak havoc without the pressures of their parents.

Just then, she spotted her friends from the distance. She smirked (because villains did not smile) and strode towards them.

"What's up guys," she greeted them. They all gave her non-verbal greetings in return. Jay, the son of Jafar, punched her in the shoulder in greeting. Mal winced, since it was the shoulder with the injury. Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen, frowned at her.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" she queried. There was already an underlying suspicion in her voice, but Evie wanted confirmation from Mal herself.

Mal shrugged offhandedly, "Nothing. It's not important." No need to get them worked up over nothing. It's not like they could do anything about it.

"Mal," started Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil.

"Fine," Mal huffed, "it was my mother. Happy?" None of them were, but they couldn't say anything more. They all knew what happens when Maleficent gets angry. While they all got punished whenever they didn't make their parents happy, they all agreed that Maleficent's treatment was by far the worse.

The gang hung around the Isle for the rest of the day causing mischief. Mal focused more on graffiti, continuing on a detailed mural she has been working on. Evie focused on her looks and using them to flirt with other guys to distract them as Jay and Carlos took those said guys had. At the end of the day, they all headed back towards Mal's home, as their parents usually had gatherings (they refused to call it hanging out) in the evenings.

Once they arrived, they became incredibly nervous. Their parents were incredibly gleeful and giddy about something. That said a lot since villains are never really happy these days. Mal wondered what could get her mother so excited. She has never been this happy since Mal could remember.

"Mother, what is it?" she queried, standing slightly close to the others. They too sensed caution, in case one of their parents may lash out.

"Oh Mal! It's just simply marvelous! The King's son has announced a royal decree! The four of you are being offered a chance to go to school at Auradon!" Maleficent announced gleefully. Mal reeled back in shock. A chance to get off this blasted island? She glanced at her friends apprehensively and noticed the same expressions were showing on their faces.

"We're... _invited_ to Auradon!?" Evie exclaimed. "Why?"

Maleficent waved her hand carelessly, "Who cares? What matters is the fact that you guys are able to go! Think of all the things you can do for us! We can finally rule the world!" She cackled and the other villains smirked and clapped at her speech.

"What things?" Jay asked.

"Why, steal the magic wand of course! If you steal that, we can finally be free! We can rule the world!...We can finally be a proper family," Maleficent said slyly. The teens' breaths hitched in their throats? A real family?

"Well! Off with you! We must begin packing right away! We have to much to prepare! We must have you wear the best clothings. Think of the impression you will make!" the Evil Queen rattled off to Evie.

"Oh! Darling, you simply must bring me a dog," cooed Cruella. Carlos cringed at that. Confront a dog? He would rather die.

"Well, off with you lot. They will be arriving to take them tomorrow. Go get ready!" Maleficent ushered the others off. Finally, it was just Maleficent and Mal. Mal couldn't believe it. They could finally be free like she wished, but to Auradon? Would they really want to go there?

"Mother...what if we don't want to go?" she asked tentatively. The expression on Maleficent's face changed instantly.

"Not go? Not go!?" she snarled. "Why on Earth would you not go? This is an opportunity of a lifetime! Do you _want_ to disappoint me!?"

"N-no Mother but-" Mal's words got cut off as she got assaulted with the most horrible pain coursing through her body. She fell on the floor, writhing and gasping in pain. She dared not cried out though. It would only make it worse.

"Well!?" Maleficent growled.

"B-but-" Mal got cut off again by another blinding wave of pain, worse than the last. While the Isle supposedly cut off Maleficent's magic, it did not cut it off completely, thus she is able to perform simple spells if her emotions were strong enough. Anger and incredulity at Mal's incompetence usually fueled this particular spell.

"You will go, and you will finally make me proud. Isn't that what you want, _darling_ ," Maleficent cooed.

"Y-yes Mother," Mal echoed weakly. She could barely gather her thoughts; the pain was so powerful. She knew if she got attacked again, she would pass out. Once, she hadn't woken for a week because Maleficent used it on her 15 times.

"Now, that's better. Go pack up and prepare to leave," Maleficent said, her anger dissipated.

Mal quickly scrambled to go to her room, staggering and using the wall as support. The minute she closed her door she sagged down to the ground. Curling up in a ball, she rested her head on her knees. Her head swirled and churned with blurry images. She groaned in pain and clutched her head, trying to gain some semblance of control back. Breathing deeply, she regained some clarity from the pain. Dragging herself up, she managed to drag herself to her small cupboard where all her things were. Mal noticed a bag for her things on the bed. Her mother must have put it there. She grabbed all the things she owned and stuffed it into the bag. It didn't take long, and all her things were in the bag in less than half an hour. She glanced around the room, the place where she lived all her life.

Mal began to second guess her wish to move somewhere else. Would Auradon be a good place to be? But they talked about being a real family...could it be true? Would they stop and actually treat their children like they cared? While a part of Mal doubted it, she couldn't help but have a small twinge of hope. It could be true, and all they have to do it outwit the stupid goodie-two shoes over at Auradon. Isn't that what she is meant to do anyways? Cause havoc? Be evil? With resolve, Mal decided that this whole plan is worth a shot. Whether it would work or not, it wouldn't hurt to try. Either way, they can finally be free of this torment. With a sigh, Mal sluggishly pulled herself onto her bed, slightly happy to know that this can possibly be the last time she will be there. As she drifted off to sleep, she vaguely felt a grumble in her stomach and fell asleep to it and the screeches of people outside.

 **A/N: Do you guys like it? I'm going to base it off the movie for a while, but I'm going to have changes. Eventually, once the movie is finished I'm going to go off on my own story line of course! Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. A New Life

**A/N: Thank you much for all the kind reviews and reading this fic. It means a lot. Unfortunately, I'm a student and have lots of essays and tests, so I may update quite regularly but then go dormant for a week or two. However, I am very invested in this fic and I'm not planning to abandon it. Also, I would like to note that on my profile, I've set up a progress report sort of thing, so you all can see how far I'm in for typing the next chapter.**

 **ALSO, I just realized that there was another Descendants fanfic with the same title. While it's only a minor detail, I might want to change it. Any suggestions? They would all be appreciated.**

Chapter 1

This was it. They were leaving. Mal turned to greet the others in silence as they walked up to her. They turned to look at the place they called home, possibly for the last time. What was there to say? They were grateful they were leaving, yet they were unsure of what was to come. If they stuck to the plan and failed, they probably would end up back here. Their failure would set it up to be even worse.

Mal huffed and straightened herself up. There's no time like the present to cause havoc, that was her mother always said. She turned to the others and gave them a ghost of a smile.

"Well guys, this is it," she stated. They nodded in agreement. They looked over their shoulders again. Just then, they noticed the barrier shifting colors a bit before a limo pulled through and onto the Isle.

"Whoa," Carlos said. There wasn't much transportation, if at all, on the island. And this was a limo; talk about high class for those Auradon people. It made Mal seeth a little inside. Here, they were scraping by to survive, and the so-called good people gets luxuries?

"You guys ready?" the limo driver called out. The gang all nodded and began to help him put their stuff in the trunk. If he noted that they each only had one small bag, he didn't say anything. Finally, there was nothing left to stall.

"Will they come say good-bye?" Evie asked in a small voice. The four friends all looked back again. Mal guessed that was what they kept waiting for.

Jay took a deep breath, "I guess they aren't coming. Let's go." With that, he jumped into the back seat.

Once we were all situated, the limo driver closed the door and began to drive. We took in our surroundings. We were sitting in a large area with soft, leather seats. They were softer and better than Evie's bed, and her's was the best out of the four of them. Mal glanced at the shelves of goodies across from them. Their jaws dropped; it was so much food. Their stomachs growled and decided to dive in without hesitation. Jay and Carlos continued to fight over various candies while Evie was chewing on a lollipop and Mal had a piece of chocolate in her mouth. The tastes were so heavenly, so much better than anything they had ever eaten on the Isle.

On the drive to Auradon, they talked aimlessly about things, from the Isle to what it'll be like on Auradon. They even talked to the driver for a few moments, about remotes. He seemed skeptical about them and drew the partition up, though the four teens didn't care much about it. Finally, they began to draw to the end of the car ride, arriving at Auradon Prep. Mal noticed there was a bunch of people in the front to greet them. She wondered if they were forced to be there; not many people would want the kids of villains with them. With a sigh, she nudged the others to tell them to get ready. Evie immediately began to go over her outfit and makeup, fussing over them. Jay and Carlos of course ignored her, scuffling with each other over candy instead.

They finally pulled up to the school and they all piled out. Carlos and Jay kept wrestling until Mal hissed at them to stop. They scrambled up just as Mal noticed a lady wearing a blue dress along with a boy and girl around their age. The boy was wearing a uniform while the girl was wearing a pink dress. Mal rolled her eyes, who in their right mind would wear pink?

"Welcome to Auradon Prep! I'm Fairy Godmother, the headmistress of this school. I hope you had a pleasant trip here," she began. Mal cringed at the bubbliness in her voice. _Are all people like that here,_ she thought. She turned to the others and noticed the same reactions.

" _The_ Fairy Godmother?" Mal queried, "As in Bibbity-Bobbidy-Boo? As in the magic wand?" The others looked at the lady with interest. Already minutes in, and the object of their plan has been mentioned.

"Bibbity-bobbidy-you know it. But it is all in the past. I like to tell people to focus on their future," she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I'm Ben," the guy cut in. The girl next to him chimed in that he was also the Prince, soon to be king. But honestly, Mal wasn't paying her any mind. Her voice was just an annoying background noise. She was still more focused on the wand. It was here.

"Ben and Audrey will be showing you around Auradon. I'll see you all tomorrow! Don't forget, there's a curfew," the headmistress said cheerfully before walking off. Ben began going off on a speech, shaking each of their hands. He was looking at her intensely for a minute, Mal noticed; or she could have imagined it. Ben kept going on about how their two people will begin to heal.

Mal rolled her eyes at that. "Or the day you show 4 people where the bathrooms are," she spoke up sarcastically.

"Too over the top?" he asked.

"Just a little bit," she said snarkily.

They began to walk back towards the main entrance of the school. Mal noticed Audrey giving her an apprehensive stare, but did nothing more than that. While Mal sort of wished she said something so she could snark back, she conceded it probably would be better if they tried to avoid each other altogether.

Ben showed us into the hallway of the school. He then introduced us to this guy named Doug, the son of one of the dwarves. He showed us to our rooms and gave us our schedules, all the while rattling off the rules to us. Mal didn't really care for much of it, choosing to tune out the timid teen as she followed after him. Eventually, he dropped them all off at two different rooms, mentioning we aren't allowed to be in the others. _Like we would listen anyways,_ Mal thought.

Mal and Evie peered into their room after the guys left.

"This is so amazin-" Evie gasped, before being cut off by Mal who said, "Gross."

"Psh, yeah. It's so amazingly gross," Evie amended. Although Mal could tell through the uncontainable excitement that Evie liked the room.

Mal sighed. Evie was just too easy to please. Anything that was princess-y (was that even a word?) she liked. Although, now that Mal thought about it, Evie did have great taste when it came to fashion. She flicked her hands at the windows, and she and Evie pulled the curtains back in. Honestly, there was just so much sunlight.

Mal briefly pondered about that. There wasn't much sunlight on the Isle, so did they perform magic to keep it so dreary? Or was it just a side effect of the magic to contain all the villains.

Speaking of magic, Mal turned to Evie, "Let's go find the boys. We have things to plan."

With that, the girls wandered around the halls for a good ten minutes before actually finding the boys' dorms. It took another five to find the right door. Jay opened the door, not at all surprised to see them. Rules are made to be broken anyways. Mal peered inside, and she sighed. The boys' room seems much more appealing to her with the oak walls and furniture. Why do people automatically assume girls like pink?

She glanced over to the tv and watched as Carlos was engrossed in a hands on video game. She smiled; trust Carlos to find the technology the most interesting. Well, at least he was playing a game that involved ducking and dodging opponents. That may come in handy in the future.

Mal situated herself onto a seat and grabbed her spell book. She began to browse, hoping to search for a spell to get the magic wand. Or any spell really, something she can use to practice. She glanced up and to her frustration no one else was doing anything productive to help. Couldn't they see that they had work to do? It wasn't fun and games; they had to get the wand. Or else. What would happen to them if they fail?

"Guys," she called out exasperatedly. "We have a wand to plan for. What are you guys doing? Nothing!"

"Chill out, Mal," Evie said, laughing. "We'll get it; I know we will."

"Yeah, but we need to focus. How will we get it? Don't you guys know what will happen to us if we don't!?"

"Well yeah," Carlos said, "bad things, but we just got here. I know you want to be evil Mal, but...what did your mother say? It didn't happen overnight?"

"Yeah," Mal grumbled, "easy for her to say though. She's not on the receiving end of her own tempers."

The others grimaced at that. They knew all too well the wrath of Maleficent, and the wrath of their respective parents for that matter.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. The group exchanged glances, who could that be? They weren't close to anyone yet, not that they want to be or will be.

Jay went to go answer the door. When he opened it, Ben was at the door with a smiling face.

"Hey guys!" he said cheerfully, "I came to pick you guys up to show you where we will eat. We'll pick up the girls along the way."

"No need," Mal piped up, "we're right here."

Truth be told, all of them were anxious to get some food. While they did have some on the car ride, those were sweets and didn't really amount to anything. Mal and Evie had been bickering earlier about if they were going to be provided food here. Mal didn't think so, but Evie did, at least at the beginning while they were settling in she had amended.

Ben looked at the two girls in surprise. "You guys know you aren't allowed to be in here right?"

"Of course," Evie smirked, "doesn't mean we will listen."

"Lead the way princeling," Jay mocked.

Ben shook his head at them but said nothing more. He tried to think of something to talk to them about, but he realized that they didn't have much in common. Well, he amended, nor anything that he knew of. He didn't know them that well, if at all. To his relief, Carlos spoke up.

"So," Carlos began, "how does all this food stuff work?"

"Well," Ben started, "we eat in the cafeteria. There is all sorts of foods you can choose from. You just grab a tray and grab something you want to eat. It's all very simple, and the food is the best."

"Sweet," Jay exclaimed, and the other murmured their agreement.

"So...we only get this meal?" Mal asked hesitantly.

Ben frowned at her, "No. You get three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You guys just came after lunch, so we were waiting to take you to dinner. Sorry if you guys were hungry before that."

"We're used to it," Evie replied absentmindedly.

Carlos on the other hand was ecstatic. "Three meals a day!? Awesome!"

Ben looked at them strangely. Were they hinting at what he thought? That made him sick to his stomach. They didn't have enough food on the Isle? Well, they didn't say that, he argued. Let's just see how the dinner goes.

They finally entered the cafeteria, and the chattering quieted down. This was the first time everyone got an actual good glimpse at the new transfers from the island.

The four teens were too busy gaping at the food to pay any mind to the blatant stares they were receiving. They could eat all this!? Carlos thought. All this food could last them months at a time on the Isle. This was what the people in Auradon got on a daily basis? It seemed unreal, to see that their problems were so different than the people that lived here.

Finally snapping out of her trance, Mal nudged the others to snap to attention again. She noticed that everyone was watching them now. While this slightly unnerved her, she took it into stride. Why would she care what they think? However, she decided they should be careful how they would act in front of others. They shouldn't show too much emotion, she decided, that would be showing a weakness. Just as she turned to the others, however, Carlos and Jay hollered and ran to all the food. Mal and Evie exchanged exasperated glances, though Evie did give a small, fond smile directing towards the boys.

They followed them though in a much more subdued manner. Mal couldn't even begin to fathom all the food. While the boys were trying to grab basically everything, the girls picked and chose what they needed to eat. Mal grabbed a piece of bread and some cheese to go along with it. However, she did grab an extra loaf of bread and some apples, so they can bring it back to their room later. They can never be too careful. Evie followed in the same manner, but she grabbed some noodles and some extra grapes and pre-made sandwiches.

By the time they finished and had grabbed some crystal clear water(Mal couldn't believe they had water that sparkled), the boys had already found a table to sit at. The group dove right in and was already halfway done by the time Ben joined them, this time with Doug.

Ben chuckled, "You guys don't need to eat so fast. It's not like anyone's gonna steal it."

Wrong words to say. The four teens stopped eating before turning to stare at him. Ben shifted underneath their gaze, not really sure what had transpired.

"If we don't eat fast on the island," Jay began lowly, "then it will be taken away from us. Whether from our parents or others, it didn't matter. You eat to survive. You steal to survive. Don't you dare mock us," he growled.

"Hold your horses guys," Ben said nervously, "I wasn't trying to mock you. I was just saying-"

"We know what you were saying," Mal cut him off, miffed. "Now if you excuse us, we'd like to finish this in our rooms."

With that, they grabbed their plates and headed back towards the dorm rooms. Unbeknownst to them, the whole cafeteria had heard what they said. Whispers broke out, but Ben was deep in a thought, reeling back on what the newcomers had said. Was it really true then? Of the things happened on the island?

Ben turned to Doug, "We need to find out what happened there," he said. Doug nodded in agreement, thinking after the girl with blue hair.

From the few hours that the descendents of the villains had been here, they had shown signs of being through lots of hardship. Ben hoped it wasn't as bad as he began to think it would be, but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Did they cause all of that?

 **A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Sorry it took so long, so I decided to make this a longer for you guys. I know it's not really eventful, but this is more of a filler chapter to show them getting situated and all that. Be on the lookout of the next chapter and leave a review! :D**


	3. No Other Choice

**A/N: Hi again! Thank you guys so much for all the support for this fic! I'm sorry it's been a while since the last update. I've been really busy with school since I've had a bunch of tests and projects due. Add onto the fact that I'm on board of a club, and I'm on the dance team. Yeah, I'm busy. But fret not my dear readers, writing is a passion of mine and resides in the top 5 of must dos in my life. With that in mind, on with the story! Also, please note that while I will follow the movie and continue after it left off, I will also change some things.**

 **Also, I will update before next week with another chapter since it's Thanksgivin Break and all. So, stay tuned for it!**

Chapter 2

Mal sighed as they finally reached their room. She vaguely wondered if they were allowed to even have food in here. Probably not. The others were just as dejected as she was. She was just so stupid! Spilling out their secrets out loud so all could hear. Mal was being weak, and this was frustrating her.

Jay on the other hand was grateful for the outbursts they had said. It sure shut those prissy pants up. Bonus points that they took food to their room. He would have to find a secret storage place for it, in case the need ever arises, and knowing these so called heroes it is a probable yes.

Jay peered over at the others, wondering how they were feeling about this. He saw Carlos just finishing stuffing his face with his food, although he left a good portion of it behind to save. Carlos then began to turn on the TV to play some games. Jay then turned his attention to Evie, but there was nothing surprising there. She had already abandoned her food to her sewing machine and mirror. Jay felt sympathetic for the girl. It had been ingrained in her mind from the start to search for a prince and no other.

Jay finally set his gaze on Mal. She was always the most difficult one. She had to act all tough. They all had to, but Mal always got it the worst. Mal might be their ringleader, but Jay was the one that protected all of them. He knew Mal wasn't as bad as she might seem. Try as hard as he might, he knows that she doesn't really have it in her. Or maybe she's a late bloomer, like her mother keeps reprimanding her about. Either way, it's hard to tell.

"You ok Mal?" he questioned softly.

"Of course I'm okay, Jay," she scoffed sarcastically. "It's not like I basically spilled all of our sufferings to the student body here on the first day. Ugh!" she groaned, "I'm so weak!"

"Hey," Jay exclaimed, "you're not weak. That was a natural reaction. Even we were all spouting stuff. It wasn't just you."

"Doesn't matter," she replied stiffly, "I should've known better."

Jay exchanged glances with Evie and Carlos. Mal really pushed herself too hard. Whether she was evil or not, she pushed herself too much; she should just let it run its course. What did that one old guy say once? Go with the flow? _Yeah_ , Jay thought smirking, _that's my kind of motto._

"Ok guys! We have a break in to plan!" Mal suddenly announced.

It took some rounding up, but eventually every got focused. Carlos used his laptop to hack in and find the layout of the museum. With that, they were off to go steal the wand. It seemed relatively quite simple as they crept up to the museum.

They had no trouble getting in and putting the night guard to sleep. Once they got the place to themselves, they each split up to find the wand. They wandered off into a less accessed corridor. She noticed it was more dreary and gathering dust, so not many people went through here. At the end of the hallway, Mal realized why. This was a memorabilia to all the villains.

Hesitantly, they glanced at all the statues. _They really immortalized their parents?_ Mal thought. Cautiously as if in a trance, they walked towards the statue. Mal quickly glanced at the others to see that they weren't any happier than she was for stumbling upon this. There was nothing to describe it like. To be finally rid of their parents, from all the torture and belittling, and then realizing that they weren't really free from them, it was depressing. Mal blinked rapidly. No, she chided herself, crying shows weakness, don't you dare cry.

"Wow," Carlos finally said in a quiet voice, "even when we're free of them, we aren't really."

Jay murmured in agreement before snapping out of his own trance. He could see someone needed to get them out of there, for their own sake.

"Well guys, they're just statues. Nothing more, nothing less. C'mon, we have a wand to find," he beckoned them to a different direction.

While Evie and Carlos followed Jay, Mal stayed behind, staring at the statue of her so-called mother with a conflicted look on her face.

"Will we ever be rid of them?" Mal spoke to herself quietly, "but what are we doing anyways? Following their orders, so they can have the freedom they want. What's the whole point anyways?"

Mal pondered about this a bit more. What _was_ the point anymore? They were free, free from their parents' grasps. They didn't have to do as they were told anymore. They could start a new life, here in Auradon, if they wished it. That would be nice, Mal thought, not worrying about her mother anymore especially for the others too. But then, what would happened if their parents found out?

That was a different problem entirely. If their parents found out, to say they'd be furious is an understatement. They'll be livid; they'd want revenge. It was simple as that. And while the barrier is the only thing that is protecting them, Mal doubts that it could hold forever. If given that Maleficent was angry enough, she'll find a way. A way to get back at all of them, of this Mal was sure.

 _ **~Flashback~**_

" _This way Evie!" 8-year-old Mal called as they ran through the Isle._

 _The two girls were trying to find the perfect place to hide from the boys. They were playing hide-and-seek. Well, sort of. This game was different. They would be in teams and had to hide. Once they were caught, depending on how long they were hiding would ensure which team won. The losing team had to be nice for the rest of the day._

 _It was a strange game, but it was alright for these young kids. And to be nice was the absolute punishment, the best incentive to get ahead._

 _Since it was Jay and Carlos' turn to seek this week, Mal and Evie were the ones hiding. Eventually, they found a partially hidden door in an alley and ducked there._

" _Hey Evie," Mal started, "do you know what time it is?"_

" _Probably around 3 o'clock," Evie answered. "Why?"_

" _My mother said that I had to be home by 6 o'clock. No exceptions. She said we had something important to do, and that I'll be very sorry if I disobeyed her."_

" _Oh, well don't worry. We'll get you home in time. If not, maybe you'll be able to sneak in. I doubt we're going to be playing for three hours anyways."_

 _Mal nodded in consent, and they drifted into silence in anxious wait for the boys. But how wrong they were, while the boys were able to find them (the girls lost by the way), they were just young kids. And like most young kids, they were content to having fun while time slipped by._

 _By the time Mal realized it was late, it was already 6:30 at night. Panicked, she raced off towards her house, the others in hot pursuit. Ten minutes later, she reached the ominous castle she called her home. Climbing the side of the wall, she was able to get to her window. With some amount of effort, Mal hauled her way into her bedroom and waved good-bye to her friends. She knew they were worried, she was too, but she had to face the music eventually. Hopefully, she could put it off._

" _Well, well, well," came a voice behind her that she knew all too well. So much for putting it off._

" _H-hey Mom," Mal squeaked out nervously._

" _Do not 'hey' me, Mal," Maleficent hissed venomously. "You are LATE. What do you have to say for yourself!?"_

" _I-I'm sorry Mother" Mal whimpered, "it won't happen again."_

" _It better not," Maleficent snarled, "do you know what I do with people who don't listen and follow my orders!? I end them."_

 _And with that came the long torture for Mal. While most of the night became blurry to Mal because of the pain, she knew that it was horrible. She knew that it was painful, and she knew that she shouldn't do anything to make her mother angry again. Her mother inflicted multitudes of pain on her that night. Maleficent had beaten her mercilessly, used the limited amount of magic she had to emotionally and physically hurt her inside, and kept food from her the next few days._

 _When her friends were able to see her again, it was a week after the fateful day, and Mal was exhausted, hungry, in pain, and with an insanely high fever. Her mother had broken one of her arms. One look at her, and her friends hauled her to their own alcove. The alcove was a place where the friends would go to whenever they had trouble at home. It was theirs and only theirs and provided reprieve from the ill intentions that await them._

 _They each took turns nursing Mal back to health. It tooks a couple weeks, but her fever and swelling of her arm went down, and she began wearing a cast Jay managed to steal, so her arm could heal._

 _She never did find out what she had to be back in time for._

 _ **~Flashback~**_

Mal snapped back from her memory and blinked rapidly. She almost began to cry. Again. Letting out a small huff of frustration, she allowed herself a few seconds to collect her thoughts. She came to the conclusion: help their parents. The consequences of them being discovered by those perfect preppies would never be as bad if they were to betray their parents.

She wandered after her friends and saw that they had already found the wand. Gleefully laughing, they raced down the stairs to get to it. Mal tried to formulate a plan, but then Jay began to walk towards the wand to take it.

"Wait Jay, don't!" Mal cried out.

Jay merely smirked at her. "What?" he said, "it's so easy."

Mal groaned, it wouldn't ever be that easy, but it was too late. Jay had already reached to grab it.

A force field shot out, knocking Jay down. Sirens began to go off. Not good, the security guard only fell asleep, not in a deep sleep.

"Really?" Carlos said, "a force field _and_ an alarm!?"

"Who cares?" Evie said frantically, "let's go!"

With that the quadruple hurried down the steps, nearly running into the security guard that came the opposite way. They raced to the doors, and while Jay held them open, Mal realized that Carlos wasn't with them.

"Where is Carlos?" Evie hissed.

"Over there," Jay pointed to the security desk where Carlos was on the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, it was just a false alarm. It was a malfunction in the LM714 chip in the breadboard circuit," he said, nodding to the person at the other end of the line, "yeah, no problem. Say hi to the missus."

"Carlos, hurry!" Evie said frantically.

"Your welcome," Carlos said before rushing over to the door.

They took off and ran towards to Auradon Prep. Once they reached the campus, they slowed down the pace and cautiously went back to their rooms. Mal and Evie bid the guys good night before retiring to their own room.

Mal sighed, frustrated as she got ready for bed. They needed to come up with a new plan to get that wand.

 **A/N: Thanks for the read! Sorry it took so long.**

 **Leave a review, and while it's not guaranteed, I'm open to suggestions!**


	4. Beginnings of Friendships

**A/N: Yay! So I've finally updated! Whoops, I apologize, but this was sort of a difficult chapter to write, since they start school and all. I couldn't really find a way to make it interesting, and I was immensely stuck. Of course, an idea that comes to play decides to hit me out of nowhere while I'm eating of all things. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy! If you must know, I'm only including the movie as canon, not the books or cartoon.**

 **Kingson24601: Thanks so much! Yes, Ben cares for them a lot. I feel like Doug and Lonnie cared too, but they were too afraid both of the villains and what their friends would think. Jane got all caught up in popularity and looks. As for Audrey, I agree how she is a particularly nasty character, but she hasn't been taught any different. I think she would have to learn and grow in order to become nice. I haven't really decided.**

 **Random tidbit but did you know Chad secretly wants to be friends with the children from the Isle? I was at Barnes & Noble and came across this yearbook for Descendents. **

Chapter 3

Mal slowly woke up to a burning sensation. She jolted upright, fearing that her mother was in her room to punish her for one thing or another. Blinking rapidly, she looked around the room to see she was no longer in her room, or rather, her room on the Isle. _Oh right, I'm going to Auradon now with a bunch of prissy people. Great,_ Mal thought.

Groaning, she got up and trudged over to Evie's bed to gently shake the girl awake. Evie abruptly shot up with a shriek, wildly glancing at her surroundings until she realized she was at Auradon. She calmed down before panicking once more.

"Mal! We don't have anything to wear!" she shrieked as she began pacing around. Mal rolled her eyes.

"Of course we do. We have clothes, Evie," Mal said exasperatedly. Honestly, Mal honestly couldn't see how Evie could be so obsessed with her looks. But then again, she's always been told so.

"I never had anytime to prepare properly," Evie fretted before pulling out a dress with a pair of leggings. "These'll do for now I guess. I'll just have to make more when we get out of class."

"Suit yourself," Mal said, half listening as she went to the bathroom to get ready.

Ten minutes later, she strolled out of the bathroom, refreshed. She saw a blur of blue hair rushed past her in her haste to get to get ready. Chuckling, Mal sat down at the table and glanced at the clock. It read 6:30 AM. School didn't actually start until 8:30 AM. Mal wondered if they'll be served breakfast. She still wasn't completely sure how the whole school and food thing worked. Back on the Isle, they were at school by 9 AM, if they chose to go at all. There were only two classes, so school was out by 12 PM and they didn't get lunch.

Mal got up and walked to the side of the room and pulled at a specific part of the wall. It was a small, but hard to see latch to open the secret compartment she installed late last night. It took awhile, and she was tired, but it was the hardest magic she's done so far and was proud of it. The sandwiches they took from the cafeteria at night were a bit stale, but it was alright to them. She would try and learn the food preservation spell now.

Twenty minutes later, she managed to learn the spell. It would only last for two days, but that was fine for now. She would keep practicing to strengthen it for longer periods of time. There was a knock on the door, and Mal went to go open it.

Jay and Carlos strolled into the room, already prepared for the day. Mal held up the sandwiches, and they each took it, gobbling it down.

"Do you think they'll serve us breakfast?" Carlos wondered aloud.

"I hope so. Evie and I haven't eaten yet, and Ben did mention that we got three meals a day. It'll be alright though if we don't," Mal said.

Jay frowned, "Well why didn't you eat these sandwiches?"

"I was trying to work on a food preservation spell. It works by the way, but I have to practice to make it last longer. I just finished when you guys came in."

Just then, Evie came out of the bathroom, looking refreshed.

"What time is it?" Evie queried.

"6:55 AM," Carlos replied. "Oh, I have these too by the way. They're our schedules. Doug forgot to give it to you girls yesterday."

"Ooh, what classes do we have?" Evie said, clapping her hands ecstatically.

"Well, you guys are sophomores, and I'm only a freshman. Some of our classes are going to be different," Carlos stated sadly. "But we do have Remedial Goodness 101, History of Auradon, and PE together." The others peered over his shoulder.

"Ok, so that's period 1, 3 and 6 covered," Mal said. "Jay, Evie, and I have English for 2nd. Evie has chemistry for 4th while Jay and I have Physics. Hmm, weird. Why do we have different science subjects."

"Awesome!" Jay exclaimed, "We get to beat stuff up." Mal and Evie rolled her eyes.

"No we don't," Evie scoffed. "And about the different subjects, remember you and Jay took chemistry back on the Isle? I skipped the class because my mother didn't want me to learn from them. She wanted to teach me herself, but I guess that doesn't count."

"Oh yeah. Anyways, we have Algebra 2 for 5th with Evie. Lunch is after 3rd apparently. Carlos what classes do you have?" Mal questioned.

"I have Geometry, Biology, and English but for my grade," Carlos replied.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, which Evie went to open. There stood Ben and Doug.

"Morning guys," Ben called out cheerfully while Doug fidgeted a bit next to him. He must be still nervous around them, Mal thought, trying to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"Morning," the teens chorused back.

"I thought that I would stop by, since you guys don't really know how the times to go to the cafeteria yet," Ben explained.

"Great, let's go," Mal said swiftly, as she brushed past the prince.

The walk to the cafeteria was awkward to say the least. The villains' kids couldn't talk about plotting or anything until they were alone, and Ben and Doug didn't really know what to say to them. Ben desperately tried to think of something neutral to talk about. Maybe then they will become more friendly and open up. Doug, on the other hand, was nervously just trying to get by. He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of Evie. Why this was the case, he didn't even know. She looked so beautiful, but then he remembered all the stories his father and uncles told him. He still can't believe that she was the daughter of the Evil Queen. But then again, they seem to act different compared to what their predecessors sounded like.

"So...how do you guys like Auradon Prep so far?" Ben asked after a beat of silence.

"It's...magical," Mal said, after a moment. Ben briefly wondered if she was being sarcastic or if there was any underlying meaning behind it, but he dismissed it.

"It's better than the school on the Isle that's for sure," Evie said ecstatically. Evie knew she shouldn't be so excited for classes, but she can't help it. She really wanted to learn.

"Yeah, there are a ton more wimps at this school for sure," Jay chuckled.

"You know, you shouldn't be so mean about the students," Ben chided gently, although he didn't really say anything else in case it disturbed the tentative peace between him, Doug, and the new arrivers.

"Yeah, well the Isle is a dog eat dog kind of world," Jay said offhandedly. "I don't know how you all were able to round up the villains and stick them on that blasted Isle."

"Well you can't judge a book by its cover," Doug added in, finally speaking. Ben suppressed a chuckle. He was crushing on Evie so bad; it was obvious.

"Well then, if you so called 'good' people teach that lesson, that should be applied everywhere, don't ya think," Mal said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Carlos chimed in, "don't think we've been blind. We know all the rumors that have been going around. Honestly, there's no one here that has convinced us that they are purely good, well, except the Fairy Godmother."

Before Ben and Doug could say anything to defend themselves and their peers, they reached the cafeteria. The villain's kids dispersed to go grab all the food they could fit on their trays. Ben noticed that while there weren't any angry stares directed towards them, people were curious and on edge, as if they would suddenly come out and curse them all.

He sighed. While he didn't want it to be true, he can see what Carlos means. While the heroes prided themselves in being good, many of them, retired generation and their children alike, were persistent for Ben to put a stop to his nonsense. Why would the children of evil be any different? They had argued.

They did have a point, Ben conceded. From his little interaction with the teens, they do have a sense of mischief about them. However, it didn't seem to be on the level that their parents were, ruling through fear and whatnot. But even then, they probably weren't taught any different. But if they had the choice, they could choose good, and that's all that matters. Shouldn't the so-called good at least give them the chance?

Meanwhile, the quartet settled themselves down at a table and started to ravish the food the got. While they did have a full meal last night, it had been months since a proper meal for the, and they were still starving. Evie finished first and began taking the extras they took and putting them all on one plate and covering it with a napkin. They'll drop this off at their room before class starts. Mal can work on her enchantment later.

Doug and Ben finally got their own food, and after a little urging from ben, the two of them sat down right next to the transfers.

Mal looked up in surprise and locked eyes with Ben. He gave her a half-smile in return.

"What you said before about no one here giving you the right impression, it could be true. Some of us might not be as good as we want to believe. Regardless, the two of us are going to be here to prove otherwise," Ben explained. Mal gave a short nod before returning to her pancakes.

"Why don't you try putting syrup on it," Doug said aloud, surprising himself and the others. He knew that he was quiet so far, and the new teens probably thought he was afraid, but truth be told, he kept getting distracted by Evie.

"What's syrup?" Mal finally asked, after swallowing another mouthful.

Ben looked at them in disbelief. "You don't know what syrup is?"

Jay shrugged, "Well food is hard enough to come by as it is on the Isle without the extra stuff that makes it so special."

Ben and Doug exchanged glances at that. The teens from the Isle keep insinuating all the hardships they had endured. While they haven't actually confirmed anything, Ben and Doug could take a guess on how their life on the Isle worked. Ben was determined to be able to get the full story from them soon enough.

Ignoring his budding questions for now, Ben cheerfully exclaimed, "Well why don't you try it now? Fair warning though, once you've tasted it, there's no going back."

With that, the four teens shrugged and poured some syrup onto their pancakes. Their reactions and groans of satisfaction and amazement was all the answer Ben and Doug needed. They shared a smile. This was going to be a great year.

 **A/N: Well, that's the chapter! Sorry if it is a little boring, more of a filler chapter really. Also, it seems a little awkward to me, but that might be because of how long it took for me to figure it out. What do you guys think?**

 **I'll be updating in about 2 weeks. I would do it sooner, but finals are coming for me at school. The next chapter will be about their lessons and another flashback. This time for Evie. Until next time, darlings!**


	5. A Little Chemistry

**A/N: Alright my lovelies! Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took longer than I actually anticipated. Finals are officially done for me, thank the lord. I meant to take a break from studying during the week to start writing this, but I just really didn't have the energy to do it. I'm free now, so get ready for some updates! I wanted to make sure to update as a Happy Valentine's Day gift to you all! Also, you may notice that not all the things go completely in line with the movie (as you will see in this chapter).**

Chapter 4

The group had finally finished eating and began to clean up. Mal set aside a plate full of food to take back to their room, something that both Ben and Doug had noticed but didn't comment.

"So," Ben finally said after a beat of silence, "What classes do you guys have first?"

"Well, we have Remedial Goodness 101 first," Mal replied, scrutinizing the schedule. "Evie, Jay, and I have a class together after that, but we have to split up for 5th. Evie has Chemistry."

"Great," Doug exclaimed, "I have that too. So you'll already have a friend in the class."

"Yay!" Evie said gleefully, clapping her hands together. "I'm not actually alone."

With that, the four dispersed off to class, waving goodbye to Ben and Doug. The minute the quartet was alone, their demeanor changed and slumped into exhaustion.

"Wow," Jay remarked, "I didn't think being peppy was going to take that much energy."

Mal let out a small noise in agreement. "But we have to show them that we're fine. If not, they'll be all up in our cases thinking something's wrong."

"But there's nothing wrong with us," Carlos stated, confused.

Evie sighed. "True, there isn't. But don't say you haven't noticed the way they're looking at us. Especially when it came to eating and conserving and about our parents."

"Yeah," Mal affirmed. "They already think that something might be wrong with us, since we are born into villains, but we can't show them any weakness. We are here because of a certain goal. Besides, it's already bad enough that we're different. I doubt that their parents act like ours. Imagine what will happen, all the pity for something they don't understand. But that's life guys."

They continued on their way to class, although stopping at the dorms to drop off the food and place a spell on them.

Remedial Goodness 101 wasn't very eventful. They were going through schemes while choosing which decision is the best, or in the class's case: good. Mal seemed to be getting the answers right, which surprised her friends and their teacher, the Fairy Godmother. Out of all their parents, her's was the most evil of them all.

"I just choose the one that sounds the most boring," she explained. The others nodded their heads, finally getting it, but in truth, it was like that for Mal. Yes, the others were far more exciting, but what was the point of doing that? If you gave the baby a bottle it would shut up and less an annoyance for you.

They also officially met the Fairy Godmother's daughter, Jane. Well, they saw her when she walked into class, but she was too scared to even look them in the eye. Mal smirked, this could prove useful to help achieve their goal.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Mal knew she was garnering looks since she always took an extra plate back to her room. In retrospect, it was a little suspicious. People probably thought they were pigs or hoarding food. Let them think what they will, Mal thought vindictively. It's our business not theirs.

After lunch, they separated to their own classes. Evie nervously made her way towards Chemistry. Oh, how she wished Mal or Jay were with her! She never knew how Carlos did it; being able to go to classes all by himself. Carlos is braver than most people give him credit for, Evie mused. After all, he had to survive his mother and the Isle. Evie knew how of the four, Carlos is the youngest and is often looked down upon as the weakest. However, she knew that wasn't true. If anyone was the weakest it was her. Not that she would tell anyone that.

Evie shook her brain out of her daydreaming and took a deep breath. She opened the door and entered the classroom. Most people looked up at her and regarded her with some interest, but they left her well enough alone to her relief. She noticed Doug sitting at a table and visibly brightened. Finally, a friendly face in this sea of people.

She made her way towards Doug and plopped into the seat next to him. She vaguely noticed the teacher staring at her apprehensively but couldn't bring herself to care.

Smiling, she greeted, "Hi Doug! Thank god for a friendly face."

Doug smiled at her, albeit rather shyly, she noted. "No problem. Happy to help. This is Chad by the way. Chad Charming." He gestured towards the boy in front of him.

Evie threw another smile his way, "Nice to meet you Chad! I'm Evie."

Chad had been rather bored in the class. He had run out of things to pester Doug with about the new arrivals. Who they were, what they were like. In all honesty, he was rather curious. Maybe he could make some new friends! Not like most of these dimwitted preppies at this school. Although he was included in that majority, one can only wish to be different!

"Hi, nice to meet you," he replied.

"So you're a prince then? Cinderella's son?" Evie asked. In truth, she could far be more interested, but she was reminded of her mother's words: to find a prince for a husband and to provide for the Evil Queen.

 _ **~Flashback~**_

" _Good morning, mother!" seven-year-old Evie greeted the Evil Queen._

" _How was your beauty sleep darling? You know, you must sleep at least 8 hours or else your skin will start forming those horrid dark circles under your eyes. Not to mention all the lines that your face might get!" the Evil Queen exclaimed._

" _Of course mother! Nothing but the best for me! And you," Evie hastily added._

" _Alright dear, if you insist. But you must start moisturizing your face. It seems like it's beginning to dry up."_

 _The Evil Queen guided Evie to the mirror and proceeded to explain everything that was wrong for the next 20 minutes. "Watch out what you eat! Look at that fat." and "Don't smile, do you know how many wrinkles you'll get" were some of the more revisited insults._

 _Evie knew she should've been used to it by now, but she couldn't help the tears beginning to form in her eyes. She tried blinking it away before her mother saw, but it was too late. Evie fell to the floor as the echoing of the slap pittered off the walls of the room._

" _What have I said about crying?" the Evil Queen said primly although the anger in her voice was abundant. Evie briefly wondered that she probably would have been snarling if it didn't create wrinkles._

" _I shouldn't cry because it makes my eyes red and will make my face rough from wiping them away," Evie mumbled, getting herself to sit upright._

" _Good girl," her mother cooed, patting her head, "now we must get you some skin moisturizer, who knows what you have done to your complexion you careless fool."_

 _With that, the Evil Queen strided out of the room muttering some more about her ignorant daughter._

" _We must hope that a prince won't care too much about looks, otherwise you'll never get married and become a princess," she muttered._

 _Evie scrambled up to her feet and ran to catch up with her mother. "But Mother, aren't I already a princess?"_

" _No," the Evil Queen said shortly, her voice trembling with rage, "you have to earn your title. And so far, you have failed at even that."_

 _Evie stopped short, lips trembling as she stared at her mother's retreating form through the hall. If she wasn't good enough now, then when will she be? She thought, blinking furiously again in the past five minutes. A despairing thought entered her mind. If her mother didn't love her, then who would?_

 _ **~Flashback~**_

Evie shook her head, attempting to clear her mind of all those negative thoughts. The whole reason for coming here was to get a fresh start, not wallow in the past, she chided to herself. Well, that and to get away from their parents, and to retrieve the wand for Maleficent so their parents to get ultimate power over the kingdom. Evie didn't really see any sense in that, but as long as Mal was happy, she was too. Heavens know that Mal needs all the support and good things in her life she can get. Besides, she is a princess (well, not an official one, but she technically is), and princesses are supposed to be positive and nice.

Evie noticed that she unintentionally tuned Chad out. She vaguely had heard about him wanting to become as great as his parents, if not better but her thoughts about her past caught her up too much.

"That's great!" she smiled enthusiastically, hoping that was the right response. It probably was as he smiled at her in return.

"It's nice for someone to understand my predicament," he smiled gratefully. "People think that I have it all. Like Doug over here." Chad nudged Doug playfully. Doug shrugged but grinned back.

"Well it's true," Doug defended. "Your parents overcame so much to be together. Not to mention they, and you, are both good looking. Many have problems with that you know."

"I think," Evie cut in, "that it only means he has so much more to prove. I mean, I feel the same. My mother was a Queen. My mother was the best potion maker of her time. She was also able to cast such powerful magic of course, excluding Jafar and Maleficent of course, but everyone was always expecting so much from us, to be like them."

"That must be tough," Doug sympathised. Chad looked at Doug incredulously; here he was agreeing with Evie but not in the past with him. He rolled his eyes, Doug must have it bad for her.

"What do you mean 'was?'" Chad asked curiously.

"Well," Evie said carefully, "no one here really expects us to be them. At least, they don't want us to be them because they believe in us or they don't want us to become a problem. Back at the Isle, everyone looked to us as leaders of evil, ready to take over the world again alongside our parents. It sucked though, since we just wanted to be normal and not with all the expectations smothering us. Especially our parents, they still want to rule the world, so they were always training us and pushing us into shape."

"What was the Isle like?" Doug asked curiously. Now what a perfect time to learn more. Doug was mentally cataloging everything to tell Ben later. He knew it wasn't the nicest thing to do as she is telling them in confidence, but he would just make a general highlight of things. Not that it wasn't generalized already, since it was so vague.

Evie hesitated. She didn't really want to talk about it, and she knew the others wouldn't want her to as well. What happened on the island was horrible and probably horrific to the blunted people here at Auradon. They were living in such luxurious lives; they probably haven't seen anything more bloody or tortuous than a broken bone or tourney game.

She decided to settle on saying that it was what she was used to, but she got cut off by the teacher making his way in.

Doug and Chad didn't miss the relieved look as the teacher called for attention. However, Chad hadn't talked to Doug and Ben since yesterday morning since Ben had been busy. He looked at Chad questioningly, but Doug only shook his head, mouthing ' _I'll tell you later.'_

Throughout class, Evie was attentive. There was so much to learn! Evie always liked chemistry best since it was like potion brewing. You could create so many things using it. Her mother was reluctant to have her learn chemistry. She claimed that Evie was working hard enough without her having to lose more beauty sleep and that she wasn't smart enough to be ready yet. The comment had always stung, but Evie wondered if she was just put off by her eagerness to learn and her talent for it. Out of the four of them, Evie was always the one with the thirst for knowledge. Carlos did too, but it was more for technology, and he practically learned or created everything he knew. Jay didn't really care for it, preferring brawn over brains, and Mal was better with quick thinking and creating plans.

Evie noticed that the teacher was surprised with her eagerness to learn, and even more startled when she showed that she was fast at picking things up. By the end of the lesson, she wasn't sure if the teacher was pleased or not by the prospect and voiced her concerns with the two new friends she had come to make.

Doug waved her worries off, "I bet you he was in for the loop. They've never taught new students before. It's been the same students for years, just their level of difficulty and subject sometimes changing."

Chad's opinion was somewhere along those lines, although a bit more cautious. "I think you should be proud. Nothing gets past that old man, really. Worst case scenario that he hates you, he still can't fail you if you're getting right answers."

Evie smiled and thanked them gratefully. As they made their way to their Algebra 2 class, they were joined by Mal and Jay.

"Hey guys!" Evie greeted, "this is Chad Charming."

"Nice to meet you," Chad said, albeit a little nervously. Evie couldn't deny that Mal and Jay were probably the most intimidating of the group. They were both scrutinizing him.

Mal finally must've decided he was fine as she greeted him," Charmed, I'm sure."

The group cracked up at the joke and started a little chatter amongst themselves. Evie knew that Mal and Jay still didn't really trust him. They didn't even trust Ben or Doug yet, but she knew that they would try. She smiled softly as she looked at her friends, old and new. This new life is starting to become really nice.

 **A/N: Well there you have it! It's a little extra long as an apology for the wait. I probably need to explain. In this fanfic, Chad is not the bad guy. Nor is Audrey or Jane. It is their parents. Yes, Audrey, and in turn Jane, Chad, and Lonnie, will have some mishaps and things will happen, but they are the type of people that can learn from them and grow. That's how I always felt about their characters. It's their parents that will create problems, as you can already see.**

 **On another note, what do you think? Leave a review! They're always appreciated. And if you ever want to see the progress of the chapters as I write them, they're in my profile!**


	6. Wounded Suspicions

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back with another update! I'm so thankful for all the wonderful reviews I've received for this story. I don't know about you all, but while I love writing, it's a hobby. I only have so much time in my life. For example, just Saturday I was extremely booked. I literally had no extra time to even eat. I am so grateful for all the readers who understand why my updates are all over the place. While it's my fault, promising to update at a certain time when I don't, life happens, and things get in the way. I will work on that, and I won't make promises I can't keep anymore. Also, this chapter was rewritten 3 different times, and I don't know still if it came out ok. I try to do my best with each chapter. Well, without further ado, here's the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 5

Mal and the others had finally made it through their first day of school. To her surprise, it wasn't even that bad. The classes were a bit challenging, but she understood enough so it wasn't that confusing. However, after lunch, she wasn't able to concentrate nearly as much, and it wasn't because the subject was boring either. No, it was another matter entirely: her shoulder.

Truth be told, Mal had nearly forgotten about it. After she had cleaned the wound to the best of her ability, the only reminder she had about it was when she took off the scarf that night. But now the pain was coming back in full force. Mal grimaced, as a jolt of pain tremored through her as they walked towards the courtyard where students sometime hung out.

Accompanying them was Ben, Doug, and Chad. Chad seemed nice, although she still didn't trust him. Well, she didn't trust Ben and Doug either, but more them than Chad. Evie seemed to like him, although Mal didn't know if it's because his status as a prince, or that they just hit it off.

As they reached the courtyard, they plopped down in the nearest sitting area before beginning to chat amongst themselves. Mal didn't really participate in the conversation much as she was concentrating on keeping the pain to a minimum. In other words, she was determined to not let it show. She felt Evie and Jay giving her curious looks at her lack of input, so she forced herself to pay attention to the flow of the conversation.

"It's a lot of live up to; I'm just really nervous about the coronation and all. Running a kingdom is a lot of work," Ben said fretfully.

"When's the coronation?" Carlos asked.

"In a month," Ben replied, "it's going to be a big occasion. Everyone is invited, and Fairy Godmother is even bringing out her magic wand to bless me with it. She hasn't used it in forever or taken it out of the museum really."

The four newcomers exchanged glances silently. Now there was a way to get the wand. But how would they get it, Mal wondered.

"I think you're lucky," Chad said, "I mean, you basically have your life mapped out. You won't disappoint everyone since they're making you king already."

"It's not that easy, Chad," Doug cut in before Ben can contradict him. "Ben has to be a great king in order to live up to his parents."

"Yeah," Ben agreed, "When I become king, I want to give everyone a chance. There are two sides to every story, and just because we're good, doesn't mean that another person is automatically evil. Life doesn't work that way; it's so much more complicated."

Everyone clapped halfheartedly at his mini-speech before bursting out in laughter. Ben felt his cheeks warming up and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry guys," he apologized, "got a little corny there."

"Well we know who to go to if we ever need a pep talk," Mal said, punching him in the shoulder.

"And we know who to go to if we ever need a sarcastic debate," he shot back, retaliating the punch.

However, he, or Chad and Doug, never anticipated what happened next. Mal stiffened and hissed in pain, grabbing onto her shoulder. The others immediately were on high alert, their focus only on Mal.

"Mal?" Doug asked, "are you ok?"

It didn't seem like Mal had known everyone had seen that. She immediately straightened up, put on a cool mask, and said, "Yeah, everything's peachy."

Jay scoffed, "Lies." Carlos and Evie nodded in agreement.

"When and where," Evie added on, bluntly. Doug, Chad, and Ben were confused. What was happening right now? But they didn't really have the time to ask as the quartet seemed to be in their own little bubble, one that concerned themselves and no others.

"It's nothing; I'm fine," Mal insisted.

Jay and Carlos looked at each other and nodded. On cue, they jumped at Mal, holding her in place as she struggled but making sure they avoided her shoulders. Carlos was successful at removing her jacket, and Jay pulled her shirt over her shoulder. Evie gasped; it revealed an ugly injury, scarring and bleeding like there was no tomorrow. The three Auradon preps were sick to their stomach. Who would do something so horrible?

Mal huffed and straightened her shirt. "I'm fine guys," she said irritatedly. However, no one really believed her, with her stiff gait and alert posture. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all exchanged glances. Without warning, Jay and Carlos hoisted her up from either side of her and began the trek back to their rooms.

Evie turned to the open-mouthed princes. "I'm really sorry for disturbing your day, but you must excuse us. We have our friend to attend to," she said in a formal tone, practically fit for a princess. Evie then walked off after her friends who were dealing with a struggling Mal in between them.

Exchanging glances, the speechless guys sprinted after them. "Wait," Ben called out. He was however ignored as Evie joined the others with securing Mal from running off. They finally reached the dorms and began trekking to the girls' room without giving it a second thought.

Doug, Chad, and Ben all exchanged nervous glances. They technically weren't supposed to go to the girls' dorms. Doug went the day the quartet arrived, but that was a special occasion. However, curiosity won over their need to follow the rules, so they followed the four into Mal and Evie's room. Here, they saw Mal struggling to break free of Jay and Carlo's grip while Evie was calming taking out a first aid kit across the room, looking oblivious to the ruckus.

"Keep still, Mal," Carlos whined.

"I don't need help," Mal snapped, "it's fine. Really."

Jay snorted, "Yeah, like we'll believe that."

"How'd you get it though? It looks really painful," Chad questioned. The four transfers snapped their heads up to his voice in surprise. Chad guessed they didn't realize that he and the others followed them back here.

"Nothing. Like I said, it's no big deal," Mal said shortly.

"Yes, it is," Ben cut in, "you ought to get that looked at. We can go to the nurse. She'll probably have more experience to clean it up than you guys."

The four looked at him in horror. Doug, Ben, and Chad were taken aback by their reaction.

"Nurse?" Jay scoffed. "Fat load of good a nurse would do to us."

"Nurses have trained in medical school, so they would know what they are doing," Doug pointed out.

"Well not where we're from," Carlos said shortly. With that, they began bustling about again while Mal finally calmed down and sat there.

"You guys have to treat your own wounds?" Chad said incredulously. That gave him something to think about. Yes, he always complains about how much more he wants to be, yet he never really thought about these kinds of problems before. He's a prince. While he's not extremely pampered, he does usually have things taken care of for him, like laundry, cleaning up his room, and medical aid when he's hurt or sick.

"Duh," Mal said, rolling her eyes, "living on the Isle isn't a walk in the park you know. Just because you take away magic doesn't mean anything to villains. Instead of going after all you happy people, they just target each other. Shouldn't you know that? It's basic Human Mentality 101."

"No, we didn't," Ben said frowning. Evie shot Mal a look; she knew that Mal's words were a bit harsh to them. Granted, they didn't know, but Evie thought she could've explained it with less shock.

"People don't really help each other on the Isle," Evie explained more gently to them.

"But didn't the king send people there for medical assistance?" Doug asked, frowning.

"Well...yes," Ben said reluctantly, "but since it's an island with only villains and no obvious way off, you can see how only so many people were willing to do it. I think only about 2 volunteered, but we've haven't heard from them in a while."

Mal snorted, "Well, they're missing; that's all you should know."

"Missing? What do you mean missing?" Chad asked, confused.

"Use that imagination of yours, imagine what they could do to some people with good, helping bones in their body," Jay said, smirking.

"And then imagine that and ten times worse," Carlos added in. The princes shuddered.

"Why would they do that though? They're trying to help," Doug said.

"Duh, they're villains. Not to mentioned the fact that they were sent by the people that trapped them there in the first place. And also that villains don't need help, you either can survive and thrive by yourself or wither away," Evie explained.

"Wow," Ben said, cautiously, "that's a...comforting motto."

The four shrugged. "That's how we've always lived," Mal said.

Evie had finally pulled out the gauze, needle, and thread to patch up the wound. She began to disinfect Mal's wound with the gauze. Mal winced at the harsh sting of the chemicals, clearly not used to it, but kept still, determined not to show any pain. Eventually, Evie finished cleaning the wound and began stitching it together.

Meanwhile, Jay and Carlos went off on their own. Doug briefly wondered where they were going, but he soon got distracted again by Evie working. She seemed so knowledgeable with how to treat wounds, and he wondered how she came to learn. Contrary to what the chemistry teacher initially thought, she did seem to be an avid learner and smart. Not that it mattered, but Doug thought that it was an attractive trait in girls, if he was ever looking for a girlfriend. Not to mention how pretty Evie is.

Shaking his head at the thought, his attention went to the door where Jay and Carlos have returned bearing arms of food.

"It's around lunchtime, and we figured we might as well go get food since we're so busy in here," Carlos announced.

The group eagerly dug into the food as Evie finished the last of the stitches. Mal and Evie soon joined them in eating. Twenty minutes later, the full teens cleared the plates into a neat corner while Jay piled the leftovers onto a plate.

"What are you going to do with that?" Chad asked.

"It's a mystery," Jay replied, smirking.

"So, you guys have been dropping hints about what life on the Isle was like, but what about specific details? Like with your parents?" Ben asked curiously. Doug and Chad nodded, eager to know as well.

"Well...if you really want to know, we can tell you," Mal finally said after much debate in her mind. She glanced at the others quickly, giving them a look.

"Great! I always wanted to know what the island life was like," Ben said.

"It's not that glamorous, but we'll humor you," Evie chimed in.

 **A/N: Whew! This chapter is done! I've had a bit of trouble writing it, but good news! I basically have the next chapter planned out! Usually, I just write as ideas come to me, but I actually have a detailed outline of next chapter, so it'll come out real soon! Unfortunately, I'm booked this weekend, so it'll take about a week or two to get it out. I promise this time for sure.**

 **Like it? What do you think? Reviews make my day! :)**


	7. Shielded Storytelling

**A/N: It's been two weeks and three days, so I'm improving! Hopefully this will become more consistent. SO MANY REVIEWS LAST CHAPTER. I AM SO THANKFUL. They really did make my day guys, even if it's simple as "good job." Well anyways, I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Cahaya Sidur: To answer your question, no Fairy Godmother isn't going to be the bad guy. As human beings, people usually judge things that they don't understand. So when these new people come to Auradon, they don't understand them since they can't really relate. They won't be bad guys, especially since they were raised to be good (so it wouldn't make sense), but they'll judge the four. They will have to struggle with the fact that these kids are different from what they perceived, and they would have to struggle with the fact that the conditions were indirectly their fault, no matter how good their intentions were. Ultimately though, the bad guys will be their parents. Their parents are the ones with the negative influence; the ones that are hindering them from being free and who they want to be. I hope that clears things up!**

Chapter 6

Audrey was fuming. Where were the boys!? They were nowhere to be seen, and it was already halfway through lunch. They weren't at their usual lunch table, and the others had no idea where they were. Audrey had sent Jane to check if they were in the courtyard since some other students had seen them there, but they weren't.

She could understand Doug and Chad walking off, well actually not really, but better them than her own boyfriend! Could they be at tourney practice? But then where would Doug be? Audrey stomped her foot in frustration. Lonnie, Mulan's daughter, hesitantly pats her on the back.

"Hey Audrey, they're probably just busy, or help up," she consoled.

"But they should've told us! Or at least me; do you know how this looks? Me without my boyfriend?" Audrey whined. She knew it was childish of her, but she couldn't help it.

Audrey knew how she could be perceived; how some people thought of her sometimes. Hello, she was at the top of the chain, so she knew all the gossip. She supposed what they thought was true that she can be extremely shallow sometimes. But what was she supposed to do? With what she was compared to? Their parents have been through a lot, with all the villains roaming around free in their day and whatnot. Her grandmother had to go through the agony of not raising her child; her mom had to go through the difficulty of facing Maleficent. What was she supposed to do? The harshest thing nowadays are sports - she cannot even fathom to imagine doing that - or staying at the top of the fashion trends. Two very different things, but if she can't do one, might as well rock the other.

The older Audrey got, the more she realized how perfect their world seemed to be, strangely perfect. Not that she minded, but how terribly boring it is. With the new kids around, she figured they'll stir things up. Especially since Mal is here, maybe she'll get her chance to shine. That's the problem with their generation, finding a way to be heroes. Right now, they're just a bunch of preppies. Ben had it easy; he can change stuff since he was king.

"What do you think of the new kids?" Audrey suddenly asked. Lonnie looked over at her in surprise. Previously to their arrival, Audrey had protested to Ben constantly about his decision.

"I haven't met them yet," Lonnie said, "but I have the same physics class with Jay and Mal. They don't seem that bad, although they're a bit stand-offish. I just don't think they're used to it here yet."

"Hmm…" Audrey mused thoughtfully, "did you see how they acted in the cafeteria?"

"Yeah, it looked like they never saw food before and were hoarding," Lonnie said.

"What do you think life on the Isle was like?" Audrey questioned.

Lonnie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Probably not as perky here that's for sure. They probably teach them to steal and do horrible things there."

Audrey nodded, "Yeah, have you seen their clothes? The colors are so dark!"

"But their fashion isn't bad. I actually kinda like their edgy look," Lonnie pointed out.

"I guess...well I have to give them props for their fashion sense at least, although like I said, the colors are another matter," Audrey said.

With that, Audrey and Lonnie drifted off into mindless chatter for the rest of lunch. However, Audrey mind was on another matter entirely, a certain purple haired girl. If she had any purpose in life, did she take part in it? Maleficent was her mother's own enemy after all.

 _ **~(∙)~**_

Mal took a deep breath. She glanced over at the others, and they looked as conflicted as she was. However, a promise was a promise. Despite that they were villains the one thing they valued most of all were promises, funnily enough.

"Well, as you must know, life on the Isle isn't all perfect and pastel-ly here," Mal began. "Anyways, you grew up defending yourself. If you couldn't, you were considered weak. You learn things by yourself. There was school, but they just teach you the subjects."

"And most people don't learn since they skip so much too," Carlos added.

"Did you guys skip?" Doug asked.

"Well, occasionally Mal, Jay, and Carlos skips but usually only when necessary. I couldn't since I was tutored at home," Evie explained.

"You were tutored?" Ben asked, "they have available tutors there?"

"Well, I guess so. I never thought about it, but being the Evil Queen's daughter had its perks. I had my own castle even to live in. Mal did too," Evie explained.

"Why wasn't Mal tutored?" Chad asked.

"I didn't want to be, if I was my mother would've just taught me all about spells and stuff, plus I wanted to get out the house," Mal said but didn't elaborate on anything else.

There was a beat of silence before Ben asked, "So what's the story about the wound? I mean, there's a clinic on the Isle isn't there? And how'd you get it?"

Mal chewed the inside of her cheek before answering. "I got cut with a broken bottle, and yes, there's a clinic, but it's suicide to go there."

"Suicide?" Doug asked, confused.

"If you go there, it's showing everyone that you're too weak to take care of yourself," Carlos explained, grimly.

"But how would that look weak?" Chad inquired.

"Look," Jay said sharply, "if you can't take care of yourself, it basically means you're worthless on the Isle. There's fights going on all the time there, and it's not the most hospitable since it's dry. There's no sun or bodies of water. And you guys were smart enough to cramp a bunch of villains on an island and expecting them to all get along."

Everyone was quiet after that. The three were quietly digesting the information that was given to them. Is the Isle really that bad? There was another thing bugging Doug, and that was the fact that the story seemed carefully put together, like there was a veil blocking another part of the story.

"Is there anything else that happened there?" he asked.

The quartet glanced at each other before Mal looked back at him. "No," she answered softly.

"What was life with your parents? Not that I want to pry," Chad said quickly, "but they were once villains, so what happens then once they have kids?"

"Being a villain is in their genes," Carlos explained, "so even when they have kids, that doesn't mean they suddenly stop it all. Your parents didn't stop being nice and kind and whatever once they had you. Ben's parents didn't stop ruling when they had him. It's like that."

"So were they cruel to you guys too?" Ben asked.

"They taught and raised us the best way they knew how," Evie answered, "I wouldn't imagine it as anything else."

Chad glanced up at the clock before standing up in alarm. "We're going to be late for tourney practice."

"Oh!" Ben eyes widened in alarm before standing up and grabbing his things. "Jay and Carlos, you guys are coming too."

"What? Why?" Jay complained.

"Just try it out; you might actually have fun," Chad teased. Jay looked at him in surprise. While they are tentative friends, they weren't really close yet.

"Well I don't want to go," Carlos announced.

"Oh no you don't," Jay said, grabbing the blond boy who was trying to run off. "If I'm stuck doing it, then you are too."

The boys went to leave with Jay and Chad dragging Carlos out. Doug and Evie were going to the library to go study since Evie had to catch up with chemistry. The other subjects were a bit easier since she was already studying them, but they're a quarter of a way through the year with her knowing very little. Ben stayed back for a moment to talk to Mal.

"Is your shoulder feeling better?" he asked, "you should really go to the nurse if it persists."

"I'm fine," she said, a little annoyed.

Ben chuckled, "Ok, ok. Just checking."

"Ok," Mal said, "bye now." She reached to close the door, but Ben stopped it.

"If you, or any of you guys, need to talk, I'm here ok? If I'm going to be the future king, I need to know what I need to improve on in the kingdom and with the people."

Mal wanted to say something really crass back at him, but the earnesty in his eyes stopped her. He looked like he really meant it. But didn't they all mean it? She knew that his parents probably had good intentions too, but they never did anything to help the families of villains when they stuck them on the island.

Mal gave him a small nod. "I'll keep that in mind," she finally said, and closed the door.

Ben looked at the closed door and thought about everything he learned today. There was much more to the story. He knew that, and he was determined to find out.

 **A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I thought that was a good ending for one. I hope you like it! It's unedited, but I wanted to post it as I was done. The one thing I didn't like about the movie was how petty most of the Auradon teens were. Like c'mon, us teens have a lot more than that (I would know, I am one).**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, and leave a review! They make my day :)**


	8. Rolling into Tourney

**A/N: Hello again. It's been awhile huh. I've been really busy with planning and preparing for my club's DCON, which was around two months ago. It's basically a leadership camp, but it takes so long to plan. Planning it takes a lot out of you, so I was kind of recuperating. Right after, I had to hit the books since May is AP Season (RIP my Chem score). After that, I had to focus on all the last minute tests and projects I was assigned. However, I am finally done with school, and I can update on a faster basis! So without further ado, here it is!**

 **Book girl fan: Thank you so much for reviewing! About the King not really paying attention to the missing medical people. Keep in mind that as king, he really does have a lot on his plate. Also, remember that there is no way off the island, including contact. The people that have volunteered knew the risks. Sorry that I didn't explain that so well though, so thanks for pointing that out! A conversation about it may come in the near future ;)**

Chapter 7

Carlos loves his friends, he really did. They've been through so much crap together, and they have a bond that can't compare with any other. Sometimes though, he questions why he became friends with them in the first place. Like now, as Jay was dragging him to the tourney field. Why on earth would Jay think that he would be able to do a sport? Give him a keyboard, and he can blow people's minds. But sport? Tourney no less. Start him out with something easier, like cricket.

"Alright, alright," Carlos huffed out in annoyance. "Release me already. I won't run off."

With that the boys released him, and it took all his dignity to right his shirt, playing it off like he wasn't struggling in the first place.

"I still don't know why I have to tryout in the first place," Carlos grumbled as Jay cuffed his head.

"Look at this on the bright side. It'll bring in the chicks," Jay said smirking.

Carlos rolled his eyes at that. "Only if you're, like, the star player or something. Besides, I've never played this sport."

Chad was in his element. This was something he was good at. "It's easy enough," he offered, "there are two types you can play. There's defensive position and an offensive one. Defensive protects the offensive from the other team as they try to get the ball to the other side of the field. They make sure the offensive don't get thrashed around too bad."

"Great," Carlos muttered. "Well, I guess I'll be defense. No way I'm doing offense."

Ben chuckled, "Don't be so worried. You'll get the hang of it."

With that, they bid Doug good-bye as he went off to his band practice. Carlos nervously chewed his cheek. This is gonna suck. He never thought of himself as an athletic guy. Sure, on the island there was running around and causing mischief or running from other bad guys, but that is different. That was for survival or just for fun. This, in his definition, didn't look like fun. Carlos would trade a computer and internet over sports any day.

Carlos was broken out of his thoughts as a man, the coach he assumed, blew the whistle.

"Stay here a moment; we'll talk to the coach," Ben instructed before walking off with Chad.

The team was gathering around the coach as he began speaking, probably to give instructions on what to practice. Soon, they dispersed into smaller groups to practice their technique and game plays. The coach himself began to head over to them.

"The name's Jenkins, and I'm the coach of the tourney team. I hear you guys are interested in joining?" Jenkins greeted them with a smile. He held out his hand which Jay and Carlos shook.

"The name's Jay. This is my friend Carlos. I wanted to see what all the fuss about this sport is for. We've never had tourney on the Isle," Jay explained.

"Well the game is simple enough," Jenkins began, "you get the ball and try to make a goal. There's offense and defense. There's a Kill Zone too. Now off with you boys; let's see how you played." With that the coach shooed them off towards Ben and Chad who were waiting with extra equipment for them.

"Kill Zone…?" Carlos muttered under his breath as he tumbled his way over to the two experienced players.

Ben handed them gear before going off in a spiral of explanation on what to do. Confused with all this armor he had to wear - there wasn't really anything else to call it - he failed to hear the instructions.

" ... and that's basically it," Ben finished. Carlos started. Did they already go through the rules?

"Any questions?" Chad asked. It seemed like a rhetorical question since they were already ushering them onto the field.

"Wait, I have a lot of questions," Carlos protested, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Within moments, the coach blew his whistle, and the game began. Rustling and thumping were heard as boys went head to head trying to defend or push past to their goal. Carlos frantically tried to decipher what was happening when a disk - why on Earth would they have that in the game - whiz past his head. He let out a yelp and ducked his head, although that would've been futile if it actually hit him.

"Get out of the Kill Zone, kid!" Jenkins yelled in his direction.

"Kill Zone?" Carlos repeated. Another disk flew by. He looked down at his feet and realized he was standing on a patch of painted red grass.

"Oh…" Carlos let out before running off as fast as his legs could carry him. Unfortunately, his luck didn't last as a disk grazed his leg and sent him sprawling into the grass, albeit safe once more on green.

Meanwhile, Jay was having the time of his life. Who wouldn't? He's bulldozing down guys and being as aggressive as he wanted. He pushed into Chad, knocking him down onto the grass. While they might be getting along, out here was different, and Jay used it to his advantage.

Jay remembered what Ben had mentioned about the Kill Zone earlier. It was the middle of the field and painted red. Basically, you'll be hit with disks in an attempt to knock you off balance. With a yell and a run, Jay began advancing towards it, ball in the stick and air. _This is where life on the Isle helped you_ , he thought. He maneuvered and flipped his way across the Kill Zone, avoiding the disks like a ninja.

With a roar, he bulldozed his way towards the goal. In his distant, fog-fazed mind, he recognizes Carlos shouting at him frantically, but Jay paid him no heed, focusing on one thing: scoring a goal. With an enormous leap, hard swing, and gravity, the ball whooshed into the net. Jay roared in delight, flipping and jumping around. Finally, Ben, Chad, and Carlos were able to calm him down enough to realize the disbelief from the other players. Apparently, they didn't think he would do that well. _Sucks for them_ , he thought.

Jenkins and another guy - probably an assistant coach - came up to the huddled group. For a second, Jay thought he was going to be sent to the principal's office because of the grim look on the coach's face. _Do they beat up kids here too?_ Jay wondered, briefly. However, his thoughts were for naught as Jenkins started smiling and congratulating him.

"That was awesome! You're on the team. Later, I'll introduce you to something. It's called a rulebook," he chuckled, nudging the other coach.

"How about Carlos, coach?" Chad ventured to ask.

The coach hesitated. Jay knew what that meant.

"Hey," he said, putting an arm over a mildly-protesting Carlos. "We're a package deal. You take both, or none."

The coach grimaced, pondering over his options.

"I'll work with him, coach," Ben volunteered.

Jenkins sighed, "Fine. But you better get him into shape." With that, he blew the whistle, and the team was done with practice.

Jay let out a whoop. Finally, something he's good at. Tackling people and hitting things, and they were allowed it!

Meanwhile, Carlos let out a frustrated sigh. Truth be told, he was hoping that the coach was going to keep his first decision to not let him on t he team.

"Hey Carlos," Ben said, "let's stick around for some extra practice."

Carlos shrugged, "Sure. I need all the help I can get."

With that, Jay and Chad bid the two goodbye and went off in search of Doug, whose practice would end soon.

"As part of the defense, you need to be able to be strong enough to block the opposing team from getting to our offense. Now, we can work on building your strength another day. Today, we can work on your agility," Ben explained.

Carlos nodded, "Ok. Be agile. Got it."

"We'll start with some sprints. Go to the end of the field over there. You're gonna run from there to me as fast as you can. I'll be timing you," Ben continued.

Carlos began meandering to the other side of the field. Offhandedly, he wondered how fast he would have to be in order to cut it.

"Are you ready?" Ben shouted from the other side.

Carlos gave a thumbs up. Unbeknownst to him, a furry dog was making his way towards the field, eager to let out some energy.

Ben blew the whistle, and Carlos began running as fast as he can. A second later, he heard a sharp bark behind him and glanced back. To his horror, it was a dog, those evil, mangy beasts! Frantically, Carlos let out a short scream and began to run even faster. Soon, he past Ben, but the dog was still chasing after him, so he kept running.

Ben looked at him bewildered. _Why was he still running? And why's he screaming_ , he questioned. Then, he noticed Dude hot at Carlos' feet.

"Oh no. Carlos!" Ben shouted after him, breaking into a run. Carlos didn't look it, but he could be very fast when he chose to be. It took a good minute for Ben to catch up, and only because Carlos had decided to run up and cling to a tree.

"Carlos?" he called out.

"Get it away from me! That thing's a killer! He's gonna chase me down and rip out my throat. That is a no good, vicious, rabid pack animal," Carlos hysterically shouted.

Ben crouched down and picked up Dude.

"What do you mean? Who told you that?" he asked.

"My mom, duh. She's an expert on dogs. She's a dog-yellerer," Carlos said a matter of factly.

Ben chuckled. Carlos on the other hand was still too frightened to pay him any mind. On the other hand, he noticed something else.

"Why are you holding him?" Carlos exclaimed, "He's gonna attack you."

"Have you actually ever met a dog, Carlos?" Ben asked.

"Well, no. We don't have animals on the Isle. Even if we did, we'd kill them for food," Carlos admitted.

Ben couldn't have a reply to that. While people did eat meat from cows and pigs, no one has ever eaten another animal. The thought made him cringe, but this wasn't the time to dwell on those facts.

"Well, Carlos, you can finally meet one," Ben declared. "Dude, meet Carlos. Carlos, this is Dude. He's a campus mutt."

"Well," Carlos said hesitantly, "he doesn't look like a rabid pack animal."

Ben nodded his head encouragingly, lifting Dude a little closer to Carlos. Carlos slowly climbed down from the tree and warily stared at the dog. After a moment, he hesitantly patted Dude's head. Ben smiled. Now they were getting some progress made on the Isle teens.

After a while, Carlos worked up the courage to carry Dude in his arms.

"Well," he remarked, "you're not that bad."

Carlos was happy that his mother turned out to be wrong about dogs. They were actually quite cute and adorable. However, his emotions are still running rampant as he tried to get them under control.

Meanwhile, Ben smiled at that comment. He briefly wondered if he should give him some space - he clearly went through an emotional ordeal, overcoming a fear and all - or talk to him about it. Ben wavered for a moment before deciding.

"Do you," he hesitated, "do you want to talk about it?"

Carlos looked at him. "You don't have to," Ben hastily backtracked, "but, you know, I'm here if you need to talk. The others are too, I'm sure."

"It's just, it's weird," Carlos remarked. "I've grown up to stories about them. How they were vicious and cruel. My mother, Cruella, had stories about them eating bad children as a way for me to behave as a child."

Ben mouth formed a small "o," and he didn't know what to say. There was no need as Carlos continued his story.

"It was always hard," Carlos said ruefully, "living on the Isle. They pushed for you to become villains. To be bad, but they always hated it if you rebelled against them, especially if they're your own parent."

"Was that the worse part growing up there," Ben quietly asked.

Carlos shrugged, "It's different for everyone, I suppose. I just hated the stories the most since they created a fear for something I didn't understand."

Before Ben could ask anymore questions, Carlos abruptly straightened his back and set Dude down, although the dog didn't seem to want to go anywhere, content to stay with Carlos.

"We should go find the others before dinner starts," Carlos said.

With that, he turned around and began the trek back towards the buildings. He did stop, however, at the end of the path to wait for Ben. Snapping out of his reverie, Ben jogged over to catch up.

On their trek back towards the dorms, it was silent as each boy thoughts turned, although with different subjects. Carlos was pondering about the puzzle of Ben, and how he seemed to actually care for their well-being. True, he seemed a bit nosy, prying into their affairs, but so far, it seemed to be good intentions. Not that Carlos can be a good judge of character, it'll be up to Mal, he surmised. She had it the hardest out of the four. If she decided they were trustworthy enough, then he'd be ok with sharing their story. If one of them decided to share, than the others would have to as well otherwise the Auradon preppies might become suspicious.

Meanwhile, Ben reflected on what he knew so far, albeit it was very little. One question seemed to continuously echo through his mind. _Just what really happened on the Isle?_

 **A/N: Well, that's the end of this update! Summer's here, and I don't have a life! There'll be more frequent updates, and that, I swear, is not a lie. Feel free to leave feedback and support. All the reviews make my day :)**


	9. Dining Time Questions

**A/N: Back again! I'm on a roll. Well, not many updates, so continue on with the story!**

Chapter 8

Dinner crept up on the students without much incident. The group had been hanging out in Carlos' and Jay's dormitory. The guys were playing various video games on the TV while Evie and Mal were studying books. Studying being an operative word. Evie was sketching and drawing fashion ideas while Mal was reading her mother's spell book. The cover being concealed.

When Ben announced that it was time for lunch, the Isle kids quickly scrambled to clean up their mess. While it wasn't necessary, it was out of a force of habit back from the Isle. The villains always instilled about a clean environment as well as making the kids clean up being too lazy to do it themselves.

Ben chuckled, "You guys don't have to clean up. We have maids for that."

Mal shrugged, "Force of habit."

That left the Auradon teens questioning what that meant. Which led to other questions although none of them voiced it aloud.

As they made their way to the cafeteria, the group conversed about different things. Evie and Doug were speaking about chemistry, and she was asking him pointers on what to study. Chad, meanwhile, was coaching Jay and Carlos about tourney, giving them little tips on what to do.

Ben turned to Mal. "So how have you enjoyed your stay here so far?"

Mal thought about it for a moment before answering. "Well, it hasn't been completely awful. It's a nice surprise that's for sure," she confessed.

"Surprise, how?" Ben asked.

"Well, for one, it's a lot, and I mean a lot, different than how school is taught on the Isle," she explained.

"What it's like there?" Ben queried.

"The teachers don't really care. They're actually just some of the villains that were put to teach. They don't really care though if you're late or show up at all. The officers that are installed there for security though, the ones that your father put on the Isle, do care a great deal. When you get caught by them, you're sent to detention with one of the teachers. I'm surprised they're still around," Mal summarized. Ben noticed that she hesitated before answering, but he didn't comment on it.

They finally reached the eating hall much to Mal's relief. Ben and the others were starting to grow on her, but she still didn't like it when they asked about life on the Isle. She quickly filled her plate with some hot pasta and salad. Making sure to grab another plate, she filled those with some less perishable foods like sandwiches to save in their room. She needed to practice magic after all, and the emergency stash couldn't hurt.

When she sat down, she noticed Ben didn't grab anything.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh, I eat dinner back at home. We eat a bit later though since my dad has to oversee the kingdom, and I wanted to talk with you guys," he explained.

"Oh, ok," Mal said.

They all fell into an easy conversation, talking about random and pointless things. Mal slowly chewed her food as she half listened to the exchange as she pondered about how they were getting to the wand. The barrier around it was a snag, and they needed to get to it before their parents get angry. Although now that she thought about it, Mal was starting to enjoy life here. Would she throw it away for ultimate power alongside her mother? They were finally free from their parents' grasps.

Halfway through their meal, an agitated Audrey began to storm up to their table with an Asian girl and Jane following in suit.

"There you are! Where have you been all day?" Audrey exclaimed, almost bordering a shriek.

"I've been hanging out with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. I'm trying to help them get situated into the school. Plus, they're my new friends now," Ben explained, trying to placate her with reason.

"You didn't text! You didn't call! You could've said something, so I don't worry!" Audrey whined.

"Sorry Audrey," Ben apologized, "we were caught up today. Between classes and tourney practice and teaching them the ropes, it slipped our minds."

"Fine," Audrey said, visibly subsiding in her anger. She then turned to the four newcomers.

"So, how'd you like Auradon so far? Does it keep to your standards?" she asked. Ben inwardly groaned. He knew that Audrey didn't mean anything by asking about standards as she always wants to keep up with them. However, he knew the four teens wouldn't know that, and they might take offense to it.

"I guess so," Mal intoned. "Way better than the Isle for sure."

"I actually like it here," Evie chimed in. Jay and Carlos nodded in agreement.

"They actually have a sport for charging at people. Isn't that sweet?" Jay exclaimed. Mal, Evie, and Carlos exasperatedly rolled their eyes at his comment.

Audrey was surprised. She didn't really think they would enjoy being at a hero prep school.

"Really? Then the school on the Isle must not be that great," Audrey said, a bit sardonically.

Mal shrugged, "Can't argue with you there."

Audrey seemed satisfied with their answer. Not a moment later, she widened her eyes.

"So sorry! Totally forgot. This here is Lonnie, she's the daughter of Mulan," Audrey explained. Lonnie waved at them. "And this here is Jane, daughter of the Fairy Godmother."

The four teens nodded their heads in acknowledgement. Audrey then plopped herself down in-between Mal and Ben, who had been sitting next to each other. Disgruntled at being jostled, Mal gave her a sharp look but said nothing more. _The girl must really need her quality time with her boyfriend,_ Mal thought. Lonnie and Jane sat down in the available seats. Mal quietly laughed when she noticed that Jane made a point of deflecting her eyes from Mal and her longtime friends.

"So,"Audrey spoke, "what's life on the Isle like?"

The four looked at each other. Another person trying to nose their way to information about the Isle? Granted, no one here ever encountered what it was like there, but still. Mal exasperatedly gave another inward sigh.

"It's ok, I guess. We never knew anything different," Mal replied.

"What's your parents like? Are they still, you know, evil?" Lonnie piped in curiously.

Carlos snorted, "Of course they are. They're banished to the Isle _because_ they were evil. It's not like they're gonna stop. It's practically written into their DNA."

Audrey let out a small noise of agreement. Truthfully, she was not surprised, but she had to ask to make sure.

"What are they like though?" she pressed.

Jay shrugged, "My dad's not that interesting. He owns a store there and sells things to the residents."

"My mother is kind of like a ruler there," Evie piped in. "It's natural though since she was a queen."

"Not really," Audrey pointed out, "she kind of dethroned since she was evil and all that."

An uncomfortable silence rested upon the group at that answer. Mal quickly glanced at Evie and noticed she was a little upset before pulling on a mask of indifference.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me," Evie said, after a beat of silence. "She still believes it though. The people there listen to her, so it just doesn't seem like she's been dethroned."

"They have rulers over at the Isle," Chad asked, surprised. He, like many others, thought the Isle would've descended in chaos. The king didn't really put any type of ruling over there, letting them roam free but confined to the island.

"Yeah," Evie replied, smiling a bit at Chad for asking a safer question. This was something they were a bit more comfortable sharing. "Her and Mal's mother, Maleficent. They kind of rule over there. We got a whole castle and everything. It's not like they make rules though."

Mal shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Audrey turned to give her a piercing stare. Did Audrey not like Maleficent? Mal racked her brain to remember who her parents were but came up empty.

"It's not like they set out rules or anything," Mal finally said. "It's more like they're the heads because they're the most powerful. They like giving out punishments to people who they hate, but for the most part, people just keep to themselves." None of them added on that while people kept to themselves, they also went about stealing from each other, anytime they could. It was the only way to survive.

Audrey frowned. That was unexpected; she had been hoping that Maleficent withered away. It was only fitting as she rained so much terror on her family. She briefly wondered if Mal would follow in her mother's footsteps but stopped that train of thought. She and Ben had already had an argument about this last week. Audrey didn't want to have another. He was adamant to give them a chance, and as much as she didn't want to, she knew that deep down they should. It would be hypocritical as to call herself a hero otherwise. That didn't mean that she would be watching carefully though. Audrey still didn't trust them, but they seemed alright so far. Especially since Ben, Doug, and even Chad seem to get along with them.

The group fell into a somewhat uneasy, but bearable conversation. The four Isle grown teens were still somewhat uneasy about the Auradon girls. Ben, Doug, and Chad noted on that too, but they knew that they just needed time. Soon, they finished their meal. Ben excused himself, since he needed to head back to the castle for dinner with his parents. He kissed Audrey on the cheek and bid the others good night.

Ben headed outside where the driver was waiting for him with the car. On the way back, Ben pondered on the mysteries of the newcomers. They eluded to many troubling things on the Isle, but he can't seem to get a sure answer. It's not like he even asked, since he's scared on how they react. They were already so shielded and tight lipped on their past. It's better he and the others wait for instead of asking them. It's been a day, and their friendships are tentative and new. Better for the Mal and the others to trust them and come to them about it, then for him or another to ask them. However, that didn't mean he couldn't stop trying to figure out what happened on that island.

"Is there anything troubling you, sire?" the driver, Philippe, asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Ben replied, "I'm just thinking about the Isle kids."

"Oh them. Are you rethinking your decision? Are they already causing trouble?" Philippe queried.

"It's nothing like that," Ben said, hastily, "they're actually quite nice. It's just they've mentioned some things on the Isle that might be concerning."

"Well the place is a dump," Philippe recounted. He had been the one that picked up the teens from that dreadful island. "Lots of scraggly people, and they all looked shady to me. Shifty eyes and all that. When I was picking up, it drew a crowd. Almost like they've never seen a limo before. I was half afraid they were going to raid it."

Ben made a noncommittal sound, but the new information was churning in his head. More things that alluded to a horrid life on that island. Before he could pick at Philippe's brain for any more information, they arrived at the castle. Ben absentmindedly bid Philippe goodbye and made his way inside. Meandering slowly, he eventually reached the dining hall.

Ben walked towards his mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hey mom, hey dad," he greeted.

"Hi," his parents chorused.

"How was today? Any trouble?" Ben's father, Adam, asked.

"No, not really," Ben replied. "They were all quite nice. Jay and Carlos actually joined the tourney team. Chad and Doug quite like them too. Audrey, Lonnie, and Jane only met them during the back half of dinner. I had to go, so I didn't find out what they thought of them."

"That's nice dear," Belle said, smiling at her son. She was so proud of him, trying to make Auradon a better place. Regardless of the outcome of his first decision, it will be a lesson an incredible lesson for him.

"Hey dad," Ben said suddenly. "Do you ever get updates on what goes on on the Isle?"

Adam furrowed his eyebrows, "No, now that I think about it. I should from the few people that volunteered to go there, but they stopped contact a few months into their leave. I assumed it was because it was difficult to get any message across. The few times they did send any messages took forever and was difficult."

Ben inwardly sigh. It was as he expected. He loved his father, but some things just slip by him from all his work.

"Why do you want to know, sweetie?" Belle queried.

"Oh, it's just that when I was talking to them today they alluded to a bunch of things that make it sound like their life on the Isle wasn't pleasant," Ben answered, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of bread.

"That should be expected dear," Belle replied kindly. "They are living in a place filled with criminals. A few unpleasant instances here and there are to be expected."

"Don't forget too; they may very well be criminals too. Don't take their words to heart," Adam added.

Ben sighed, "I guess you're right. It's probably nothing."

With that, his family got into a conversation about the upcoming tourney match against their rival, Sherwood Forest. However, Ben's mind constantly shifted back to the Isle. His parents dismissed the idea of something horrible was going on there, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that it was worse than they thought. He didn't have any proof though, so he forced himself to think of lighter matters. Those problems can wait until he is able to address them.

 **A/N: There you have it! Another chapter done. If people are wondering why there's no connection between couples yet, I wanted to have them forge friendships before making any love connections. Anyways, until next time, and reviews and love are always welcome!**


	10. Stuffy Closets

**A/N: I swear, I'm actually getting the hang of updating more frequently. Since it is summer, expect weekly updates, if not biweekly updates. It'll depend on how busy I am those couple of weeks. I'm volunteering a lot over the summer and planning fundraisers. Anyways, thank you for all the support; your reviews and feedback are amazing. Now, on wards to the next chapter!**

Chapter 9

It was a little after dinner, and the four were lazing about in Mal and Evie's room. Evie was at work on sewing some new clothes for them. They had only packed a few, so they would need new ones in a few days. Carlos was fiddling around with his laptop. His excitement when he found out that there was free Wi-Fi still hasn't worn off. While he was extremely techy based off of the Isle experience, there was never free or working Wi-Fi there. Meanwhile, Jay was lazing about, bouncing a ball from the wall.

As for Mal, she was hard at work practicing on her magic. She was trying to make the food the took that night from the cafeteria to last longer. She was pushing for at least a couple more days improvement on the spell. So far, she's been able to make the food last a week. Eventually, she grew tired, as magic use wore out the person. She then began pondering ways to get the wand.

Dilemma of actually working for their parents aside, they still need to come up with a plan to get it, in case they actually decide to go through with it. Their original plan, stealing it from the museum, didn't work out. Mal pondered who might have access to it.

"Do you think that Jane would have access to the wand?" Mal wondered aloud.

"Probably," Jay answered, not ceasing in his rhythm of bouncing the ball off the wall.

"Maybe we can try a plan through her next," Mal said, chewing her mouth in a thoughtful manner.

"How would we find a way in with her?" Carlos asked. "She's already scared enough hanging out with us with witnesses present. I doubt she'd want to talk with any of us alone."

"Hmm, yeah that is a problem," Mal conceded.

"Maybe we can offer her a makeover? She seems pretty self-conscious with what she looks like based on what we've seen from her so far," Evie suggested. The others just stared at her blankly.

Evie huffed, "She doesn't like how she looks, compared to people like Audrey. Maybe, I don't know, give her a new hair-do or something."

Mal's face brightened. "I think I saw a spell just for that in the book!" she exclaimed.

"Great, that's another way we can try and get the wand," Carlos said.

"Do we actually want to?" Evie asked a bit hesitantly, ceasing in her work as the conversation turned serious. The others did the same.

"What do you mean?" Mal furrowed. In truth, she knew exactly what Evie meant, but she didn't want to admit it aloud.

"I mean, it's only been a day, so we can't really judge. But, it's been a wonderful day so far. The best day of my life. I'm finally free to learn and express myself through my fashion without my mother breathing down my back. It's refreshing," Evie explained.

"Yeah," Jay agreed, "no more stealing for my father for his store. I always actually thought that was kind of pathetic. His nemesis was a guy who stole to feed himself, and he turned into him."

"Do you think that says something?" Carlos suddenly asks. "Aladdin was a street kid who stole to keep himself alive. That's not much different than us."

Mal pondered that for a moment. "Possibly," she admitted, "but it doesn't mirror his life. We're different people, so our outcome or fate will be different. He didn't have a villain as parents."

The group murmured in agreement. "At least I'm not with my mother anymore," Carlos said aloud, "I hated getting stuffed in that closet."

No one could argue with him there. Carlos' punishments were always cruel and unusual. The group once again settled in silence, continuing with their tasks to keep themselves occupied, minds off their childhood. However, Carlos couldn't stop thinking about his.

Carlos didn't have it horrible, mind you. Maybe it was because he was a bit younger than the others, or maybe that his mother never had much magic originally as a villain in the first place. He was never tortured like Mal, beaten like Jay, or even degraded like Evie, but his mother was a special case on her own.

 _ **~Flashback~**_

 _7 year old Carlos laughed and waved goodbye to his friends before heading back to his house. Nearby, he vaguely saw a man shake his head with disgust in his direction but thought nothing of it. He knew that laughing and being happy was unbecoming of villains, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He enjoyed hanging out with his friends, especially Jay._

 _Jay had helped Carlos out of a tough situation when he was five. Carlos was not weak by any means, but he was smaller and scrawnier than the average person his age. That meant being the runt of his age group, and thus, bullying from the others. However, one day Jay had stepped in between the situation and yelled at the stupid kindergartners. A beautiful friendship was formed that day, and Mal and Evie soon joined their group not long after that._

 _Whistling to himself, Carlos entered his household, and almost immediately, his joy wilted at the gloomy atmosphere._

 _By far, he was luxurious in living on the Isle, actually getting a house instead of living on the street. He factored it in since Cruella knew Maleficent personally, who practically ruled the island. The house itself left much to be desired. Coated in black, white, and grey, one cannot help settling into a somber mood as they entered the threshold. More so as Carlos knew what his mother did._

 _Speaking of his mother, Cruella was lounging on the couch, awaiting for his arrival home._

" _Carlos, my dear boy," she crooned. "Did you do all your chores?"_

" _Yes mother," Carlos replied dutifully._

" _Wash my clothes, did you?" she asked._

" _Mmhm," Carlos mumbled, half paying attention and anxious to get to his room._

" _Did you forget, perhaps," she paused, "to GROOM MY COAT."_

 _Carlos froze. "Uhh," he stuttered out, frantically trying to recall in his brain if he had done just that._

" _Well," she huffed out, "you didn't. And you know what that means, do you?"_

" _Wait, please mother," Carlos pleaded. "It was a mistake. I just forgot. There was so much to do and I must've - "_

" _Save your excuses," she snarled._

 _Cruella stood up and advanced to Carlos, menacingly. She roughly grabbed him by the shirt and began dragging him, despite his protests and pleas. She opened the door of the closet and threw him in._

" _Wait mother," Carlos cried out, "please! Don't leave me in here! I hate it in here!"_

" _Well you should've thought of that before gallivanting off and dismissing your duties as unimportant," she snapped._

 _Without another word, Cruella marched off and left Carlos alone, trapped alone in the darkness of the small closet._

 _Carlos hugged his knees. He hated it in there. Often times when he disobeyed, Cruella would lock him in here for extended amounts of times. It was dark, damp, and cramped in the closet. Carlos barely had room to stretch his legs, and it smelled of rotting flesh. Idly, Carlos wondered if any body was stashed in here since it smelled so bad. Or maybe, he thought grimly, someone was locked in here and died._

 _He curled up in himself for as much warmth as possible and drifted in and out of slumber. Carlos awoke himself on more than one occasion from nightmares of dying or being trapped in the closet forever._

 _One such nightmare was so severe, that Carlos awoke in a panic, frantically gasping for air._ Breath, _he thought to himself. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Slowly, he came down from his panic attack before drifting off some more. Carlos didn't enjoy sleeping so much in this cramp place, but there was little else to do besides worry himself to death._

 _When Carlos was finally let out again, he found out from his friends that it had been a week. He didn't have any food or water, and he was exhausted despite his uneasy naps. He felt nauseous as he drearily made his way to the hidden alcove that he and his friends exclusively claimed for themselves. Not that anyone else knew about it to challenge for the spot._

 _He collapsed when he finally got there. Laying on the cool concrete with the breeze and sun flowing and shining on him._

 _It could've been hours or minutes, but eventually, his friends made their way to that spot. When they spotted him, they immediately propped him up. Jay and Mal went off, coming back with food and water for their lunch. Carlos noticed that they gave him an extra large portion, although it actually wasn't that large, to him. He wanted to protest, say he was fine, but he couldn't find the strength to say anything._

 _They didn't ask any questions. They just consumed the food and drink they acquired as Evie filled the void with mindless chatter. Carlos was beyond grateful. He couldn't ask for better friends. They knew it wasn't the time to push or pry, yet he needed to get his mind off of the dark closet._

 _ **~Flashback~**_

Carlos jolted himself out of his thoughts as Jay shook his shoulder. He realized that it was late, so he began packing his things. Once he was ready, he bid the girls goodnight and went back to their dorms.

When morning finally arrived, Mal was in good spirits. She had a plan to get the wand. Well, a plan in case they actually had to do it. After their talk, Mal realized how much they enjoyed it here. However, she knew they still had to plan. To the older generation of heroes, she knew how they felt about them. She knew how they distrusted the teens. She couldn't blame them, not with who their parents were. That's why they need the plan in case they can't stay. With their track record, they won't be able to stay anyways.

It was early morning, probably 6 AM, and she and the others didn't plan to eat breakfast until 7:30 AM. Ben told them last night he would be eating breakfast at the castle, so he wouldn't be there.

Mal quickly wrote a note to Evie that she was going out to not worry the girl. Evie was currently in the restroom, bumbling about her morning routine.

Mal slipped out the door and meandered her way down the hall. She needed to find Jane without making it obvious. When she got to the hallways with their lockers, Mal realized that was the perfect place to wait. No one would suspect her being there, and everyone had to pass through there eventually.

Thankfully, being the daughter of the Headmistress had its advantages as Mal spotted Jane walking down the hall. When Jane spotted Mal, she let out a squeak of terror, but that didn't deter Mal.

"Hey Jane!" Mal exclaimed.

"Uh, hey Mal," Jane awkwardly greeted, eyes shifting to the floor.

"I was just wondering, since you're the Fairy Godmother's daughter and all, is there any classes for magic here?" Mal questioned, making sure to keep her voice neutral and innocent.

"Uh no," Jane replied, "we don't do magic here anymore."

"But that's totally bogus," Mal gasped, "I mean, you're the Fairy Godmother's daughter, shouldn't you be like, training to be the next one? Especially with that wand, it's pretty powerful."

"No," Jane said, a bit sullenly. "My mother said that it is better that magic isn't learned anymore. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's not needed. Plus, look how magic turned out for Maleficent and the Evil Queen. Uhh, no offense."

"None taken," Mal replied back, honestly. "So, even she doesn't use magic anymore?"

"Nope. She doesn't even have her wand with her anymore. It's displayed in the museum as an artifact, and no one's allowed to take it. The only time it'll leave it though is during Ben's crowning ceremony. My mom is gonna use it to bestow the ruling to him. Heritage and tradition and all that," Jane explained.

"Oh, I think I got it. Sorry, I'm just curious," Mal said sheepishly. "I actually have magic, so I was wondering what I could do with it."

"Really?" Jane said, her nervousness was back. "So you're gonna like, use it to curse people or help them?"

"I'm not sure yet," Mal replied honestly. "I'm not that powerful, or trained, so the I only know little spells. Most of them are to help though, the ones I've been practicing. Oh!" Mal exclaimed brightly, "maybe I can practice on you!"

"M-m-me?" Jane stuttered. "I'm sure you can find someone else. They would be better."

"Oh no, I think you'll do fine," Mal responded enthusiastically.

Jane gulped, but she was cornered and at this time in the morning, there wasn't many people around to witness. She squeezed her eyes shut in nervousness, praying that she won't at least be turned into a toad or an animal.

"Beware, forswear, replace the old with new hair," Mal chanted, reading her spell book.

Jane's head jerked in different directions. She trembled, not sure what that spell would do. When the jerking came to a stop, she felt her head feel heavier, and something fluffy was brushing her shoulders. She slowly opened her eyes. Mal had pulled out a mirror, and she handed it to Jane, smiling widely.

Jane slowly looked into the mirror and gasped. Her short bob was now luscious locks!

"Wow," Jane gasped.

"Do you, do you like it?" Mal asked, a little nervously.

In truth, she really did want to practice magic, and she hope she did well.

"Like it? I love it!" Jane squealed. "Thanks Mal!"

Her cautiousness around Mal forgotten; she hugged her. Mal widened her eyes in surprise. She was just practicing, but Jane made it like she owed her a favor. Mal smiled a bit at the thought, helping out Jane. Jane, from what she could tell, was insecure with how she looked. Although she wouldn't admit it, Mal felt a tiny bit happy with helping her out.

 **A/N: Another chapter done and over with! Keep all the love coming, and see you guys in the next update!**


	11. The Beginnings of Change

**A/N: Oh my gosh. Where did the time go? I planned to update after two weeks but a couple days before the the second Friday, my sister and cousin managed to get me to watch Fairy Tail. Needless to say, I'm all caught up on the episodes, and when I looked at the time, it was August. I'm extremely sorry, and I don't have a proper excuse except for binge watching an anime. Anyways, thank you SO SO much for all the love you guys have been showering for this fanfic. I honestly can't believe it! I love you all!**

Chapter 10

Audrey was suspicious. No, she wasn't suspicious; she was certain of the fact. Jane has amazing hair! When did that happen? Jane went from a short bob to luscious locks. That can only be the work of…

She turned her glance to rest on Mal and Evie, who were at Mal's locker chatting away as Mal decorated her locker. It had to be either one of them. But which one? She knew Mal had magic. Duh, her mother was Maleficent. She wasn't so sure if Evie did, but she was obsessed about looks and fashion. Although Audrey wouldn't admit it, she did kind of like Evie's designs. If only they were more...feminine and pink, not the edgy look the Isle kids wore.

Now that she thought about it, where did Evie even learn how to sew? Honestly, Audrey couldn't picture the _Evil Queen_ doing any type of grunt work. So where would she learn? No one on the island would certainly teach her. They're all villains, and they first and foremost look after themselves. Well, not these four, Audrey conceded.

Audrey couldn't even figure out why she was even bothered? Who cares if she knows how to sew? Anyone could learn. Also, how did Mal get so good at art? How did she even pick up the skill anyways?

Ignoring the unknown feeling starting to bubble inside of her, Audrey brought her head to her original train of thought. Who had magic to change Jane's hair? After debating between who would most likely have done it, Audrey resolved to just watching the two more closely. After all, all this speculation was beginning to create a headache, and it was only morning.

Meanwhile, Evie and Mal were trying their best to ignore Audrey's stares. How could they not? There weren't many people about in the hallway, and she wasn't being subtle. Honestly, just because the villains all got locked away on the Isle together, doesn't mean the heroes should lag behind teaching the next generation survival skills. Especially since you never know what evil can be lurking about.

Mal frowned. She noticed that while the kids of the heroes have been nice, they weren't exactly sharp. She didn't want to brag, but she and the others from the island were much more aware about things. She wanted to sneer and make a comment about how pathetic they are, but she just felt sad for them. They're practically defenseless.

Mal didn't know how she felt about Audrey. Yes, there was the whole history with both their mothers, but Mal didn't really care about that. Not really. Audrey didn't seem petty enough so far to bring up something like that into a friendship, but judging from her character, that was just a 50/50 chance. In the end, Mal was probably the most weary of Audrey. Everyone else seemed ok. Not nice, but ok, she firmly thought to herself.

At that, Mal mentally slapped herself. She forgot! They were supposed to be planning ways to get the Fairy Godmother's wand, not mingling and making friends. Distantly in her mind, she heard her mother's sneering voice commenting on how weak and pathetic she is to stoop to such levels.

"Mal?" Evie's voice broke through her thoughts. Evie was staring at her curiously.

"Mmph, what?" Mal queried.

"You zoned out. What're you thinking about that got you so worked up?" Evie wondered.

"Just how we're gonna get the wand," Mal replied, dropping her voice low to make sure no one overheard.

"Oh," Evie said quietly, looking off into the distance, now deep in a thought herself.

"What is it?" Mal asked. Maybe she had a plan.

"Oh! It's nothing! I was just thinking about nothing!" Evie hastily replied, abruptly snapping her head back to attention, and her voice rising an octave higher.

Mal narrowed her eyes. "I can tell you're lying, you know."

Evie slumped her shoulders. Mal raised her eyebrows at the way she was suddenly acting uncharacteristically. "It's just," Evie fumbled over her train of thought. "What if...what if I don't _want_ to do it?"

Mal gave her a sharp look but said nothing.

"It's just," Evie waved her arms around as she tried to find the words. "I've been thinking about it since we were talking last night. I know we haven't been here long, but it's just _so_ much different already. I can learn new things here. I can sew here. I can eat here. I can sleep here. There's so many options of things to do; I can't even begin to believe they're available.

"Back at the Isle, we were fearing for our life. We were fighting tooth and nail for our survival. I'm not saying it's a walk in the park here, since they're cautious of us, but it's so much _easier._ Can't we just wait awhile and see where this place leads us?" Evie pleads. "Just for a little bit, and then we can see if we can steal the wand. I just want to explore this different life a little bit more."

Mal bit her lip as she perused the information Evie threw at her. It wasn't new. They all were talking about it last night. Mal was just extremely surprised at how quick Evie was to try and stop their planning their parents takeover. She had some valid points. It was only early November of the school year. They had until June, which was when school released them for the summer, before having to go back to the Isle for the break. _Were they going there for break,_ she briefly wondered before narrowing her mind back to the situation at hand.

Mal conceded she had a point. Life was nice here, so far. They also had the time to come up with a foolproof plan. But what of their parents? They would get angry if they find out the four of them were relaxing and having fun at this prep school.

"What about our parents?" Mal voiced the question aloud.

Evie was silent at that. She frowned in concentration for a solution. "I mean, we aren't able to interact with them. The people here wouldn't want them to somehow escape or something. Since that's the case, then how would they know?"

"That's true," Mal conceded. She was still a bit on the fence about it, but for once, she noticed how excited and hopeful Evie was. It was something she hadn't seen often, and she couldn't find it in herself to say no. They were best friends, and wasn't it her job to make her happy?

"Fine," Mal decided, "for a little while. When it's January we can decide what we want to do and plan the takeover from there."

Evie squealed, and Mal slightly grimaced at that. She was picking up some of the girly habits that people seemed to have here. It hurts Mal's ears a bit, but the bone crushing hug Evie gave her was something else entirely. It was like the hug Jane had given her not an hour earlier. It felt nice, and no matter how Mal mentally struggled, she couldn't argue with that. Was this what happiness felt like?

Before she could say anything else about the matter, the boys along with Ben and Doug had come up to them. Jay and Carlos had raised eyebrows at Evie hugging Mal so tightly with such a happy expression. Mal quirked her eyebrows and shrugged helplessly in response.

"What got you so chipper?" Jay asked.

"Oh, I just got a brilliant idea for an outfit," Evie smiled, lying easily. Can't say what they were actually talking about with Ben and Doug present.

"You can make clothes?" Doug inquired.

"Mmhm!" Evie nodded, smiling like a child who received candy. "I like making things. It took me forever to be able to get a sewing machine, but once I did I couldn't stop! The only problem is getting fabric since there weren't that many back home."

"There's a bunch of different places you can get fabric here. We can go shopping once it's the weekend, and you can get some," Ben offered.

"Yes! I'm so down," Evie grinned enthusiastically.

"Ok, then it's settled! Now let's go to breakfast. I'm starving," Carlos piped up.

"You're always starving," Jay teased.

"Like you're the one to talk," Mal retorted.

With that the two began squabbling and bickering, picking at each other from their hairstyle to their hobbies.

"Uh, does this happen a lot?" Doug asked Evie, almost in a whisper as if talking would disturb the argument and their anger would be directed towards him.

Evie nodded, "Happens all the time."

"To all of us too," Carlos added, "it's not like those two go at it. We all go at each other."

"We know it doesn't really mean anything. Not really," Evie explained. "It's just something we do sometimes to get our minds off of things."

"Get your minds off of what?" Ben asked.

Evie bit her lip. "Just stress and stuff."

"A lot happens on the Isle," Carlos commented darkly, and the two went silent at that.

Before the Ben and Doug could question them, Evie hurriedly went to stop Jay and Mal.

"Honestly! Are you kids? Stop bickering," Evie scolded.

"Like you're one to talk, princess," Jay said, sarcastically.

"Well if you don't hurry your butt, we're gonna miss breakfast," she replied stoutly.

Jay's face paled at that. Before anyone could say anything else, he shot off towards the cafeteria. Carlos laughed trailed after him as he too began to run in that direction.

Evie sighed, "Honestly, they're such a bunch of morons."

"It's a wonder we put up with them," Mal hummed in reply.

They turned to look at each other before bursting out in laughter. Meanwhile, Ben and Doug just watched the whole ordeal with raised eyebrows.

"Well, if you ladies are finished, I suggest we should hasten after them," Ben said.

Mal furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Why do you sound so formal?"

"What do you mean?" he asked as they began heading towards the cafeteria at a more sedated pace then Jay and Carlos. Evie and Doug were a bit ahead, talking about Chemistry.

"You using that old language. You sound like an old man," Mal teased.

"What? No I'm not," Ben protested.

"Old timer," Mal goaded.

Ben let out an exasperated sigh before starting to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. They reached the doors of the cafeteria, and Mal bolted off to grab things to eat. Ben smiled inwardly. If she was bantering like how she did with Jay, then that means she considered him a friend. That was a promising start.

 **A/N: I don't know how I feel about this honestly, but I wanted to get something out since it's been so long. It's decent. Well, let me know what you think! Reviews kept me from completely forgetting about this story, and they're so encouraging. Until next time!**


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